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HOME MANUFACTURE OF 
FURS AND SKINS 



A Book of Practical Instrucuons Telling 
How to Tan, Dress, Color and Manu- 
facture or Make into Articles of' 
Ornament, Wear and Use 



BY 

ALBERT B. FARNHAM 

Taxidermist and Furrier 



PUBLISHED BY 

A. R. HARDING 
Columbus, Ohio 



^5 



Copyright 1916 

BY 

A. R. HARDING 



tfi 



i. 



OCT 28 1916 



CI,A445370 






1*^ C/ 



/2y 



f 



Chapter 



II. 

III. 

IV. 

V. 

VI. 

VII. 

VIII. 

IX. 
X. 

XI. 

XII. 

XIII. 

XIV. 

XV. 

XVI. 

XVII. 

XVIII. 



CONTENTS 

Page 

Some Facts and General Principles for Fur 
and Skin Workers 17 

Correct Modes of Skinning Fur Animals... 31 

Stretching and Curing Fur Skins 41 

Handling Other Skins and Hides .40 

Storing and Shipping Raw Furs 56 

Indian Skin Dressing 64 

Indian Fur Robes 74 

Tools and Appliances for Tanning and 

Dressing 83 

Tanning Materials and Terms 96 

Tanning Formulas and Recipes 105 

Preliminary Work, Soaking, Fleshing, De- 
greasing 115 

Softening and Cleaning Skins 121 

Small or Light Furs 126 

Heavy Furs 130 

Deer Skins and Buckskin 135 

Sheep and Goat Skins 143 

Miscellaneous^] ^kii$^ Gator, Snake, Birds, 
Etc V. .V. . . . . ' 150 

Fur Dyeing. Uses and Principles 160 

5 



6 HOME MANUFACTURE OF FURS 

XIX. Dyeing Material and Appliances 168 

XX. Colors and Fomulas 176 

XXI. Furriers' Tools and Supplies 188 

XXIL Making Up Furs and Garments 192 

XXIII. Fur Robes 197 

XXIV. Fur Rugs, With and Without Mounted 

Heads 204 

XXV. Trimmings and Natural Heads and Tails... 220 

XXVI. Collars, Cuus and Odd Pieces 225 

XXVII. Coats and Capes 233 

XXVIII. Caps, Mittens and Gloves 240 

XXIX. Muffs and Neckpieces 246 

XXX. Moccasins and Pacs 254 

. XXXI. Utilizing Fur Waste 261 

XXXII. Cleaning, Repairing and Storing 263 

XXXIII. Prices for Tanning and Other Fur Work. . .270 

XXXIV. Appendix , 279 



LIST OF ILLUSTRATIONS 

Page 

Mink Skins, Cased (raw) and Dressed Frontispiece 

Section of Skin or Hide, Magnified 18 

Stone Skin Dressing Tool ; 23 

Steel and Stone Furriers' Knives 24 

Six Sizes and Patterns of Steel Traps 27 

"Cased" and "Open" Stretched Raccoon Skins 33 

Skinning Opossum (Cased) 34 

Some "Cased" Stretched Raw Skins , 37 

Well Handled Red Fox Skins 39 

Muskrat Skinned and Stretched 42 

Board Stretcher for Skunk 43 

Heavy Galvanized Wire Skunk Skin Stretcher 43 

One Piece Stretcher for Open Raccoon 46 

Alligator Skins — Under Surface and Horn-Back 52 

Northern Furs — Otter, Fox, Lynx 58 

Northwestern Furs — Wild Cat, Mink, Marten, Beaver, 
Etc 60 

Marking Raw Furs 61 

Great Comanche Village, Texas, in 1834 66 

Indian Camp — Women Dressing and Tanning Skins, 

1832 .68 

A Log Fur Beam 84 

. ■ 7 



8 HOME MANUFACTURE OF FURS 

Fur Beam, Not Adjustable 85 

Fleshing Knives 85 

Currier or Skiving Knife 86 

Hand Scrapers 87 

Tanners "Moon" or Crutch Knife 88 

Tanner's Stretching Frame 88 

Stake Knife for "Breaking" Skins 89 

Sandpaper Block 90 

Cleaning Drum as Used in Large Establishments 91 

Fur Drum Made of Box 92 

Furriers' Steel Combs 94 

Raw Skins, Pale and Low Grade 99 

Raw Raccoon Skin 109 

Dressed Grey Fox Skin Ill 

Beaming and Plucking Beaver Skins 117 

Shaving Mink Skins in a Large Establishment 122 

Skiving Beaver Skins 131 

Pattern for Wool Duster 146 

Skin of Mottled Shark 151 

Walrus Leather 153 

Sea-Lion Leather 153 

Seal Leather 154 

Skin of Water Snake 155 

.Letter Box, Mounted with Shark Skin 157 

Skin of Beaver Tail and Jewel Box 159 



LIST OF ILLUSTRATIONS 9 

Red, Cross, Silver Fox Skins 162 

Opossum and Raccoon Dressed and Blended 169 

Opossum and Muskrat Dressed and Blended 171 

Strip of Raccoon Fur 173 

Pale Raccoon Dressed and Blended 177 

Muskrat Dressed and Dyed 183 

Furriers' Knife 189 

"Polish Fur Stitch" 194 

Base Ball and Over Stitch 194 

Strong Hide (cattle) Laprobe 198 

Coyote Laprobe of Eight Skins 199 

Fur Robe of Muskrat Skins, Pointed Rumps 200 

Briar Stitch on Lining 202 

Sewing Border and Lining ....202 

Baby Carriage Robe 203 

Natural Skulls of Wolf, Lynx, Otter, Mink 205 

Wild Cat Rug— One-Half Head 206 

Making Mould for Head Form 207 

Inlaid Animal Rug 215 

Preparing Head Form for Wall Mount 217 

Corner of Work Bench , 221 

Shortening Natural Head Skins 222 

Alligator Paw Purse 226 

Snake Skin Belt Purse 227 

Match Holder — Alligator Leather 228 



10 HOME MANUFACTURE OF FURS 

Buckskin Pouch ., 228 

Foot Muff '. 231 

"Dropping" Fox or Other Skins— M Method 235 

Section of Raccoon Skin "Dropped" or "Let Out" 236 

Fur Cape and Pattern 239 

The "Army Cap" Pattern 241 

"Pill Box" Cap Pattern 242 

Four Piece Mitten Pattern 243 

Two Piece Mitten Pattern 243 

Three Piece Mitten Pattern... 244 

Another Four Piece Mitten Pattern. 245 

Dropping Fox Skins for Boa — V Method .247 

Method of Sewing and Piecing Mink Skin Muff. . . . , . .249 

Muff and Pattern 253 

Chippewa Moccasin Pattern 257 

Sioux or Plains Moccasin Pattern 258 

The "Wallace" Moccasin Pattern 259 

Twenty-two Raw Silver Fox Skins 265 

Beating Beaver Skins for Removing Sawdust, Etc 271 

Wild Cat Rug, Open Mouth 277 

Barrel or Ash Leach 280 




ALBERT B. FARNHAM, Author 



11 



INTRODUCTION 

Probably one of the oldest human industries 
is Home Dressing and Manufacturing of Furs 
and Skins, as this method of clothing the body 
has persisted from the stone age to the present 
time. As a happy combination of dress and or- 
nament, furs will always continue to lead. At 
the present time the manufacture of furs has 
been highly developed, with the aid of machinery 
and specialized workmen it is conducted on a 
scale which compares favorably with any busi- 
ness activity. 

However the principles remain the same, 
and good results can still be attained by hand 
labor. To the average "out-door'' man it is a 
positive pleasure to see the stiff, dirty, raw skin 
develop into the soft, clean, flexible material, and 
later to shape it into a protection from the cold 
and an ornament combined. 

In addition to the pleasure of tanning and 
making into some article for your home or office 
use, furs or skins caught or killed by yourself, 
there is a cash market for such articles. In fact, 
right here is the "Long End" of the profit. Raw 
fur skins that will bring, say |2.00 each in the 

13 



14 HOME MANUFACTURE OF FURS 

raw, when tanned and made into some article, 
such as a muff, generally sell at several times the 
cost of the raw skin. The expense of manufac- 
ture is small and with lining added, is still but a 
trifle. During recent years many I'aw fur deal- 
ers have added tanning and manufacture of furs, 
skins, hides and pelts. Why? Because they 
realized that there was far more profit to sell as 
many skins as possible when manufactured. Can 
you blame them? Not in the least. At the same 
time why not reap some of the ^'Manufactured 
Furry" harvest yourself? 

The demand for articles such as the average 
liunter, trapper, guide, farmer, rancher, etc., can 
make is ever increasing, and perhaps is an op- 
portunity to make money at a business you enjoy. 
The tanning, dressing and making into muffs, 
scarfs, capes, caps, rugs, robes, etc., if fur skins, 
or into gloves, moccasins, shirts, etc., if deer, 
woodchuck or sheep skins, can be done during 
slack time or bad weather. 

In hundreds of places, not only cities, towns 
and villages but the country as well, there is a 
golden opportunity to build up a profitable busi- 
ness in articles manufactured from fur, pelts and 
hides. If your neighbors know that you are en- 
gaged in the business (and they will) it will soon 
be known for miles around, so that you will have 
calls and should make numerous sales. If you 



INTRODUCTION 15 

don't sell your output in this way, take samples 
and visit the various towns near you occasionally. 

This is the day of the automobile and nearly 
all owners want fur robes. As a rule, these need 
not be made up of high priced skins, as warmth 
and comfort are usuall}^ what is most wanted. If 
you are in the coyote country these can generally 
be bought quite cheap — that is, if you are not a 
trapper. Even then, it may be cheaper to buy 
than to try to catch j^our supply. Cheap coon 
can also be Avorked up into robes. Coats can be 
made of furs from the cheapest to^ the more ex- 
pensive — depends upon your trade. As a rule, 
cheap or moderate priced articles sell best. Eugs 
are also good sellers in some localities and are 
made in various styles, both from fur pelts and 
skins. Slieep skins are often used, but pelts with 
a certain length of wool must be selected for best 
results. Of the fur-bearers, tliose from bear down 
to the smallest size fox are used for rugs. Both 
coats and robes are now much used made from 
Galloway cattle hides. 

Furs, pelts and hides are now used in prac- 
tically every home to some extent. Why not 
make up some of your catch — either the poorest 
or best specimens — whichever you wish. In this 
connection let us ask a few questions : 

Why pay a tanner big prices to do your tan- 
ning? 



16 HOME MANUFACTURE OF FURS 

Why pay a cutter big prices to do your fur 
or hide cutting? 

Why pay big prices for lining — satin, bro- 
cade — when you can buy it cheaper? 

Wliy pay big prices for felt lining when you 
can buy it cheap? 

Why pay a retailer of furs, robes, etc., a big 
profit on top of what the tanner, cutter and man- 
ufacturer charges him when you can get all 
these profits yourself? 



HOME MANUFACTURE OF 
FURS AND SKINS 

CHAPTER I. 

SOME FACTS AND GENERAL PRINCIPLES FOR FUR AND 
SKIN WORKERS. 

1]^ the raw state, animal skins are rouglily 
■separated in three classes as follows : 
1st. Horse, Cow, Ox, adult animals — Hides. 

2nd. Horse, Cow, Ox, young or yearling ani- 
mals — Kips. 

3rd. Young Calf, Sheep, Goat, Deer, and 
smaller varieties — Skins. 

It is with the latter class that we have prin- 
cipally to deal, though a few well haired speci- 
mens of the first two are used for coats and robes, 
by far the larger number are dehaired and con- 
verted into leather. 

To understand the nature of the change 
worked by tanning in the animal hide it is neces- 
sary to refer briefly to its structure. It consists 
of three layers, the epidermis, derma and a fatty 
under tissue. Of these the epidermis itself has 
practically two coats, (a) the outer horny sur- 

17 



18 HOME MANUFACTURE OF FURS 

face, and (b) a watery cellular one connecting 
it with the under Ijdng derma. The outer coating- 
is being shed and renewed continually from the 
cellular coat beneath. The derma or corin, is 




SECTION OF SKIN OR HIDE, (MAGNIFIED) 

the true skin, and leather making tissue. The 
inner layer of fatty tissue between the derma and 
the flesh and fat contains the perspiratory^ and 
sebaceous glands. 

The moist animal skin undergoes decomposi- 
tion very rapidly, if dried becomes stiff and 
heavy, or if boiled Avith water is changed into 
soluble glue. The object of tanning is to bring 
the skin into such a condition that decay is ar- 
rested, and after drying it no longer forms a 
stiff, horny mass but an opaque tissue, insoluble 
in water, fibrous and pliable. When dressed as 
furs such skins should retain the complete epi- 
dermis with its accompanying hair or fur. 

The best authorities believe that tanning is 
more a physical than chemical process, and that 
the function of the tanning material is chiefly to 



FACTS AND GENERAL PRINCIPLES 19 

penetrate the pores of the skiii and envelope the 
individual fibre-s so that in drying they are pre- 
vented from adhering and so stiffening the whole 
mass. 

In making true leather, both the epidermis 
and the under tissue are removed leaving the 
derma alone. This is composed of interlacing 
fibres, between which is found an albuminoid 
substance called coriin. This is insoluble in 
water alone but soluble in lime water and so 
removed in large part by the process of liming 
when making regular leather. 

Though sometimes tanned hides are used for 
making rugs, the many processes of preparing 
skins for furriers use are usually quite distinct 
from ordinary leather making. The process of 
preserving skins in a condition for use as leather 
or garments, broadly spoken of as Tanning, may 
be separated into four quite different branches. 

I. 

VEGETABLE TANNING. 

Using tannic acid derived from barks, leaves 
and vegetable gums. Nearly all lieaA^y leather is 
so treated. 

II. 

MINERAL TANNING^ SOMETIMES CALLED 
TAWING 

This is done by the use of mineral salts, and 



20 HOME MANUFACTURE OF FURS 

is pre-eminently the fur dresser's method, though 
dressers prepare some heavy skins by combina- 
tion tanning, adding Gum Catechu or Terra Ja- 
ponica to the alum or acid formula. 

III. 

OIL TANNING. 

As buckskin and chamois are treated, re- 
moving the uncombined oil from the skins by 
pressure and chemical action and replacing it 
with other preparations. 

IV. 

COMBINATION TANNING. 

Using both tannic acid and mineral salts 
combined, chiefly for leather and more rapid 
than a strictly vegetable process. The well 
known chrome leather, so durable for shoes, is 
made by one of the combination processes. 

Making use of the term in its general sense, 
we refer to fur dressing as tanning, though to 
be strictly technical, tawing would be the proper 
term to use. The preparation called Mineral 
Tanning, Tawing or White Leather Dressing, is 
carried on in many forms, but all the methods 
consist practically of three distinct operations: 
1, Fleshing; 2, Tawing or Preserving the skins, 
and the 3rd, Currying or softening them. 



FACTS AND GENERAL PRINCIPLES 21 

Fleshing consists in removing every particle 
of fat and fiesli still remaining on the skin, and 
also the inner skin, which locks up and protects 
to a great extent the true skin from both me- 
chanical and chemical action. 

In tawing, the skins are immersed in some 
liquid preservative, being occasionally stirred 
about so that all parts of them are operated on 
equally. They are weighted down so as to be 
quite covered and left in this liquid for varying 
lengths of time, depending somewhat on the tem- 
perature and the thickness of the skins. When 
the action of the preservative is complete, it may 
be determined by pinching or cutting the skin of 
the back of the neck, the thickest part of the 
skin. The tawing completed the skins are re- 
moved, stretched to their full extent and allowed 
to become partly dry. 

Currying proper, consists in stretching, sep- 
arating and softening the fibres of the skin by 
some chemical means, such as working with a 
blunt edged knife or other tool, stretching, roll- 
ing, rubbing and pulling with the hands, etc. 
The above is about the general procedure, though 
amended and modified to suit the material and 
individual. 

For instance, thin and delicate skins are 
often tawed before fieshing at all. Skins thus 
treated, and tawed in a solution (of alum and 



22 HOME MANUFACTURE OF FURS 

►salt for instance) are converted into a substance 
resembling leather though different from it. 
There has been no chemical combination, how- 
ever, analagous to that formed by the gelatine 
and tannic acid in ordinary tanning as the gela- 
tine, alum and salt, can be again separated by 
treatment with ^^ater. Dressing the tawed skin 
with 'a paste of yolk of egg, flour and water or 
other oily pastes tend to resist this deleterious 
effect of water and keep the skins soft and 
pliable. 

Alum was probably first used in tawing 
skins and is still used, though on account of its 
action in plumping or thickening the skin it has 
been to a great extent superceded by various 
acids. These, if properl}^ used, destroy the glue 
in the skin so that currying leaves it porous and 
soft, a layer of inert fibres in which the hair or 
fur is securely rooted. 

In skin dressers parlance the acid ^^kills the 
rubber" in the skin. Of course if a very strong 
acid solution is allowed to remain in the skin 
after disposing of the gelatine, the fibres them- 
selves will be attacked and destroyed. Hence the 
necessity of thoroughly washing out, or scouring. 
Clear water will remove the salt or alum but acid 
tawed skins should be scoured with an alkali 
solution which will tend to neutralize any re- 
maining acid. Dirty and greasy skins are treat- 



FACTS AND GENERAL PRINCIPLES 



23 



ed with benzine baths and hot absorbents to clean 
the fur, as no matter how well a skin may be 
dressed otherwise, matted and dirty fur is not 
wanted by civilized people. 

Tanning and skin garment 
niakino; is one of the oldest 
human industries, as long be- 
fore men dreamed of textile fab- 
rics, they were clothing them- 
selves in the skins of the ani- 
mals they ate. The gap between 
the ladv on the avenue and the 



cave woman is not as long as it 
seems. From the days when 
stone age tools were fleshing 
skins or when Simon the tanner 
dwelt by the sea (a good supply 
of salt water) on down to the 
present electrical age, the element of hand labor 
enters largely into fur and skin working. 

The industry has become highly specialized 
in all the large cities of the world where it is 
carried on with trained operatives and expensive 
machinery, still there seems to be a place for the 
hand Avorker Avho can combine a working knowl- 
edge of the necessary processes with such manual 
dexterity and neatness as will insure a durable 
and well finished article, useful and ornamental 
alike. 




STONE SKIN 

DRESSING TOOL. 

(Collected by A. B. 

Farnham) 



24 



HOME MANUFACTURE OF FURS 




1 



In the small towns and country neighbor- 
hoods there is often difficulty to get a few fur 

articles made up 
from theraw 
's k i n s. The ex- 
pense of trans- 
portation and de- 
1 a y of sending 
such work to 
some large estab- 
lishment give the 
local worker con- 
siderable adyan- 
tage. 



Before p r o- 
c e e ding further 
it might be well 
to give some attention to what a large dealer in 
raw furs and skins published some years ago as 
a caution to the inexperienced. He says thous- 
ands of dollars worth of valuable hides and skins 
are ruined each year by trappers and farmers 
trying to tan fur skins. Many of the quick tan- 
ning processes are not what they are claimed to 
be- 




(1) 

(2) 



STEEL FURRIERS KNIFE 
STONE KNIFE 



-there being no stretch to the hide when tan- 
ned and no furrier will buy them. 

Should the beginner have the correct for- 
mula, he seldom does a good job, as it takes a lot 
of experience, and for heavy hides for robes, etc., 



FACTS AND GENERAL PRINCIPLES 25 

special machinery to scrape or split them down 
thin. It is all very well for people to be ener- 
getic and try, but they ought to experiment on 
skins of no market value, such as woodchuck, 
squirrel, belgian hare and pig skins. When they 
succeed well on these, try dog cat, etc., before 
trying the more valuable ones. 

This is good advice as anyone can see, but 
there is no reason why the energetic and perse- 
vering beginner cannot master the principles of 
fur dressing and working. The great difference 
between the price of the raw material and the fin- 
ished product is attractive, but it should be borne 
in mind that there is usually a good reason for it. 

Beginning with the trapper, he receives cash 
for his catch usually and that investment is tied 
up until the finished fur is delivered to the wear- 
er (and sometimes for months afterward). Very 
few furs in the regular trade are worn the same 
season as taken, more often two years or more 
elapse with interest charges going on and the 
expense of the various handlings being added 
from time to time. 

Tanning comes first, and here you say there 
is some graft for a tanned skin costs more than 
a raw one, plus the tanning charge. This is ac- 
counted for by the fact that many apparently 
sound skins will show up damaged or even be a 
total loss after dressing. Hidden folds will 



26 HOME MANUFACTURE OF FURS 

slough, and improperly cured skins and those left 
too long in the grease will drop to pieces. They 
are dressed at ^'owner's risk'' of damage so such 
loss is added to the value of the survivors. Thin 
and faded skins go to the dyer, and this work 
must be paid for before the furrier proper puts 
a knife to the skins. 

The late winter and early spring is the slack 
time in the fur shops. The manufacturers are 
endeavoring to coll-ect on the past season's sales, 
ascertain what remains unsold, and having skins 
tanned and dyed for another season. In the 
sweltering days of July and August the fur oper- 
ators are figuratively and literally "up to their 
chins in work" and "making the fur flj^" They, 
like the trapper, need their pay at the week or 
month end and no one will begrudge it to them, 
so it is added also to the burden already carried. 
By the time the wages of wholesale and retail 
salespeople, display fixtures, insurance and other 
necessary charges are added the result is formid- 
able. 

The raw skin worth at the start |1.00 must 
now bring from $2.00 to |4.00 or see a loss in- 
flicted on some one who has helped in its pro- 
gress to the finished article. It is estimated that 
omitting the manufacturers of traps, guns, boats 
and other equipment there are in the United 
States alone over 25,000 persons employed in the 




27 



28 HOME MANUFACTURE OF FURS 

various branches of the fur trade. The average 
annual production of North America is estimated 
by a good authority to be 24,000,000 skins of all 
varieties, and the same person gives the yearly 
production of the world as having a value of |95,- 
680,000 exclusive of skins used by natives and 
hunters for their own requirements. 

New York City is the great fur center in this 
country for dressing, dyeing and manufacturing 
as well as accumulating the raw furs. St. Louis 
probably receives more shipments direct from 
trappers than any American market, and was the 
first city to hold auction sales similar to those 
held in London, England. New York leads as a 
consumer of finished furs, the sales to individuals 
there exceeding those in any other city of the 
world. London and Leipsic have claimed pre- 
eminence in dressing and dyeing but our fur 
workers are equal to any, and after two years of 
the great European War it was seen that this 
country was forging to the front in the fur trade 
of the world. 

In your home manufacture of furs you will 
try to combine the work of many individuals in 
one in order that the profit may be greater; re- 
member also that you alone will have the work 
to deal with in all its unpleasant phases, the 
hard and dirty task of the tanner, the tedious 
seams of the sewer and skin cutters puzzles will 



FACTS AND GENERAL PRINCIPLES 29 

be yours, with perhaps salesmen's and collector's 
duties added, for good measure. 

We all believe in the day of small things and 
in the fur business as in other lines of endeavor 
some of the greatest successes have resulted from 
the smallest beginnings. Ever since about 1870 
there has been a steady rush of people to get a 
share of a trade which they evidently believed 
still yielded as large a profit as was secured by 
the traders who two centuries ago swapped beads 
and jack-knives for skins with the unsophisti- 
cated savages. Many to their sorrow soon dis- 
covered that if honestly conducted, the fur busi- 
ness like any other pays the dealer only a fair 



margin. 



The responsibility of the dealer when pur- 
chasing furs must be apparent to all who remem- 
ber what a large trade is carried on in what may 
be termed artificial products. The common and 
cheaper furs are now often so prepared as to 
resemble rarer and costlier articles. The skill 
with which piecing is done is somewhat marvel- 
ous. All clippings and cuttings of furs have 
their uses and pass into different hands for var- 
ious purposes. The life of a fur also depends 
largely upon the method of dressing and the 
quality of the dye used in coloring. 

The average purchaser cannot possibly have 
the knowledge that will protect him from being 



30 HOME MANUFACTURE OF FURS 

imposed upon by unscrupulous dealers. There 
are, however, so many responsible furriers and 
fur dealers, large and small, that no one except 
those who are looking for ''something for noth- 
ing-' need be the victim of fraud or deception. 

The story of the furriers is not so full of 
dramatic interest as the history of the Fur Trad- 
ers and Trappers, but they are the ''men behind 
the guns" without whose prosaic efforts to make 
furs fashionable, and to stimulate the demand at 
various times for different species by the creation 
of new styles, peltries never could have become 
valuable enough to cause the traders and trap- 
pers to leave their homes and risk their lives in 
the pursuit of their calling. 



CHAPTEK II. 

CORRECT MODES OF SKINNING FUR ANIMALS. 



T 



HIE professional fur worker has usually 
but little need of the information in this 
and the following two chapters, as nearly 
all the skins received by him are dry or cured. 
TJie home tanner, however, gets much of his work 
in the green state, often indeed receiving the en- 
tire animal, the skin of which is to be removed 
and prepared for use. 

By following a fcAv simple directions almost 
any one can do this so that the skin will be in 
good condition for either transportation, or stor- 
age in the dry undressed state or immediate 
dressing. Many people seem to imagine there is 
some mystery in the skinning process, and rather 
than undertake it will often ship an entire ani- 
mal long distances. Not only does this add to 
the expense, but by being left on the carcass so 
long many fur skins are spoiled entirely or at 
least damaged. 

As an example we once received in Washing- 
ton, D. C, a black bear, shipped by a sportsman 
in the Adirondacks, Avho desired a rug made of 
the skin. It had been headed up in a tight barrel 

31 



32 HOME MANUFACTURE OF FURS 

and expressed to a friend Avho was out of town 
for the week end at the time, and as this was in 
the early fall the effect when the barrel was 
opened can be better imagined than described. 
Needless to say the skin was useless and the ex- 
press charges of |2.00 or so wasted. A couple of 
hours work on the part of sportsman or guide 
would have saved a good trophy and reduced the 
expense of shipping to fifty cents or so. 

The main idea is to get the skin off entire 
and with as few accidental cuts as possible. If 
the entire skin is removed it is a simple matter 
to put it in shape even if badly cut or if the open- 
ing cuts are made in undesirable places, while if 
parts of it are cut away it becomes very difficult 
to repair properly. 

The proper mode of skinning varies some- 
what according to the use contemplated for the 
dressed furs. Many hunters and trappers do not 
realize that there is a very practical reason for 
"cased'* or "open" skinning and "square" or 
"long" handling of various skins. A moment's 
thought will show that the nearer the raw fur 
can be made to approximate the finished article 
in shape, the less work is imposed on the furrier, 
the less material will be wasted in shaping, and 
more valuable such skins will be. 

Muskrats are usually "cased," as the shorter 
furred bellies are often made up separate from 



CORRECT MODES OF SKINNING 



33 



the backs. If they were skiiined ''open'' it would 
be necessary to fit together and sew a seam the 
entire length of the skin to use them so. For all 




'CASED" AND "OPEN" STRETCHED RACCOON SKINS 



small animals a good sharp pocket knife will be 
sufficient and for those of larger size a common 
butcher or hunting knife. Gambrel hooks of 



34 



HOME MANUFACTURE OF FURS 



some kind render the skinning process easier and 
may be either purchased or made as follows : 

Get a piece of heavy 

wire, about No. 8 size, 
18 inches long, bend it 
in the middle some- 
thing like a a shape, 
turn up each end for 
an inch or so in a hook, 
and tie one end of a 
foot of stout cord to 
the middle. If a small 
Avire hook is fastened 
to the other end of this 
cord it can be thrown 
over a branch or nail 
and the animal sus- 
pended b y inserting 
the hooks under the 
heel tendons after 
starting cuts down the hind legs. 

This enables the operator to use both hands 
and the cord permits turning the animal from 
side to side as needed during the process. This 
arrangement will handle anything not larger 
than a fox. Large animals, skinned "open" are 
laid on the back and turned from side to side, 
or a wooden gambrel and piece of rope used to 
suspend them. 




SKINNING OPOSSUM 
(CASED) 



CORRECT MODES OF SKINNING 35 

To remove a skin ''eased" lay the animal on 
its back and inserting the knife point under the 
skin of each hind foot, slit down the back of the 
legs to the base of the tail, slit the tail its full 
length on the under side, and slit up the back of 
the front legs of such skins as mink, marten, 
fisher and fox. 

Animals like these that have the feet furred, 
may have the skin of the feet, nails and all re- 
moved, by pulling the skin down and severing 
each toe at the point above the nail ; if the feet 
are not furred, pass the knife around the ankles 
and peel the skin down the hind legs until the 
body is reached. The scent glands are to be cut 
around carefully and the tail skinned out. 

In many cases the tail may be quickly strip- 
ped without slitting, but preservatives are not 
so easily applied and often the tail sheath will 
stick together and eventually slip part of the fur 
when so stripped. Tails of muskrat, beaver and 
opossum are worthless on furs and may be chop- 
ped off where the fur ends before skinning. 

The skin is pulled down over the head, 
wrong side out like a sock, using the knife to cut 
any ligaments attaching it to the flesh; directing 
the blade towards the body rather than the skin 
that no cuts be made in it. Bits of flesh and fat 
adhering are most safely removed afterwards. 
The fore legs reached, they are drawn back out 



36 HOME MANUFACTURE OF FURS 

of the skin which is severed at the ankles or toes, 
as the case may require. 

Tlie ears are next reached and cut off not too 
close to the skull, the membrane at the eyes cut 
through and the lips reached. Don't get impa- 
tient when so nearly done and slash off the skin 
of nose and chin but cut carefully a moment 
leaving the lips and bare nose on the skin, they 
Avill dry Avithout splitting from the inside unless 
the animal is a large one and the weather warm. 
The carcass of a well skinned animal will have 
no tufts of fur adhering to it. 

In skinning ^'open" an additional cut is 
made from the chin to the tail and the front legs 
are slit down to it generally, though in the case 
of the raccoon the front legs are not slit all their 
length and the beaver is only cut from chin to 
tail, the legs not slit at all so it stretches in an 
oval shape. 

Large animals such as the bear, puma, or 
mountain lion, jaguar, leopard and tiger, the 
skins of which are mostly used as rugs should 
always be skinned "open," with claws attached 
to the feet and heads entire. Do not throw away 
the skulls of any such animals received in the 
flesh but clean them and preserve the teeth for 
use in mounting the heads. 

The quickest way to do this is to drop the 
skinned head into an old pot or tin of water and 




SOME "CASED" STRETCHED RAW SKINS 

LYNX, OTTER. 



— HOUSE CAT, 



37 



38 HOME MANUFACTURE OF FURS 

boil it until the flesh begins to get tender. Watch 
it, as if boiled too long the bones will separate 
at the little dove-tailed joints of the skull, called 
sutures, the teeth drop out and render it worth- 
less. While warm the flesh is cut and scraped 
away, the hole at the back of the skull enlarged 
with a chisel or hatchet and the brain scooped 
out. 

Hang up to dry out,when it can be attached 
entire to the skin by a cord or wire, or the teeth 
plates only sawed off and preserved. If not 
wanted for mounting such teeth are readily sold 
to the makers of artificial papier mache heads, 
bringing from 15 or 20 cents per set for a fox, 
to fl.OO or |2.00 for the larger animals. Some 
skin dealers buy them, but the best prices will be 
had from taxidermists and manufacturing fur- 
riers. 

SKIN ^^CASED^^ 

Weasel, Fisher, Muskrat, Otter, 
Mink, Fox, Civet, Wild Cat, House Cat, 
Marten, Opossum, Skunk, Lynx. 

SKIN ^^OPEN^^ 

Raccoon, Wolverine, Beaver, Bear, 
Wolf, Puma, Badger, Coyote. 

A few moleskins have been collected for furs 
in this country from time to time. They should 




WELL HANDLED CANADIAN RED FOX SKINS 

These pelts were from foxes caught, skinned and stretched by 
the trapper who had them and himself photographed before selling. 

(Photo and description from Fur Buyers' Guide — See page 286.) 



39 



40 HOME MANUFACTURE OF FURS 

be handled ^^square" like raccoon to work up to 
the best advantage. Especially fine skins of 
coyote and raccoon are often ''cased" for use as 
ladies' furs, but for the great majority ''open" 
square handling is best. 

After skinning and before stretching, if the 
fur is wet it should be dried, and burrs, mud and 
bloodclots removed from it. Clear water and a 
rag, sponge, or brush will remove the blood and 
mud can be beaten and brushed out when dry. 
To dry wet fur, take the skin by first one end and 
then the other and whirl it rapidly round in the 
air. 

If to be dressed immediately the skin may 
be salted now or in some cases placed in the 
tanning solution or pickle. For shipping, stor- 
ing or sale as raw fur, stretching and curing or 
drying is the next step after removing any con- 
siderable lumps of flesh, fat or muscle from the 
inside of the skin. 

Fatty hides like the bear, skunk, raccoon 
and opossum may be so thickly coated as to re- 
quire the use of a fleshing knife on a beam, but 
the skinning knife and thumb and finger are suf- 
ficient for fleshing such as muskrat, mink and 
marten. Before using the flesher on the beam, 
remove all burrs and lumps of mud from the fur 
or a hole will be cut in the skin at each one in 
the operation. 



CHAPTER III. 

STRETCHING AND CURING FUR SKINS. 

CASED skins are dried on rather long and 
narrow stretchers which may be either 
skeleton frames of wood or metal or one 
or several pieces of wood. One form which is 
widely sold consists of two curved pieces of flat 
steel hinged together at the nose and adjustable 
by opening or closing at the rear. A non-ad- 
justable stretcher for small skins such as musk- 
rat, is often made of a 48 inch piece of heavy 
galvanized wire, bent into shape and the ends 
twisted together with plyers. 

I am not partial to metal stretchers of any 
kind and they should never be used at all unless 
thoroughly galvanized or rust will damage the 
skins'. We once received two skins in apparent 
good order, to be dressed for rugs, which had 
been so rusted that a narrow strip from head 
to tail on each side dropped to pieces completely. 

For skeleton wood stretchers use straight 
osier, v/illow or hickory switches as thick as the 
finger. Cut two short cross pieces, and carefully 
bending the long piece at the middle nail these in 
with a small wire nail at each end. A handful 

41 



42 HOME MANUFACTURE OF FURS 

of shingle nails and a clump of osier sprouts will 
make a full outfit of ''cased" stretchers when it 
is desirable to travel light. 

A modihcation of this eliminates the need of 
tacks or nails even in stretching muskrats. The 
sapling cut for a stretcher is long enough to 
have a surplus of one or two feet which is left 
on the butt end. The small end is bent into the 
proper shape for the stretcher, crosspiece and all 
and twisted or lashed in place with bark. 

In skinning the muskrat, the tail is split on 
each side and skinned off as two strips connected 
with the under and upper side of the pelt. After 
drawing on the stretcher these strips are pulled 
back and tied around the crosspiece. The skin 
of the hind legs is drawn back and the knife 
blade forced through it and into the wood a 
short distance at a slant. When the knife is 
withdrawn the edge of the skin will catch in the 
cut and hold it securely. 

By pushing the long end of the 
sapling stretcher into the ground it 
will hold it upright to dry. For 
ingenuity in making the materials 
at hand serve the purpose this 
seems hard to beat. When the skin 
is dry the switch is bent or broken 
^"Sd^sfretch- ^^d removed. Absolutely nothing 
HiTcJwn'^Trii!" ^^^^ ^ knife and switch are required 




STRETCHING AND CURING FUR SKINS 



43 



to skin and stretch a muskrat when '^tied with 
his own tail/' Naitural forked branches are 
sometimes made use of^ but on account of their 
poor shape and variations, hardly any two being 
alike, they are not recommended as fur 
stretchers. 

For m akin g 
board stretchers 
soft pine, poplar, 
cedar or other light 
m a t e r i a 1 is best, 
and old dry goods 
boxes . are often 
taken apart and 
used. Board stretch- 
ei"s should be plan- 
ed and the edges 
smoothly chamfer- 
ed and rounded. 
The three piece or 
wedge stretcher is 
made by ripping a 
wedge shaped piece 
from the center af- 
ter the outline of 
the board has been finished. For 
convenience and to prevent buck- 
ling when inserted in the skin, nail two small 
cleats to the base of one side piece. 





Heavy Galvanized 
Wire Skunk Skin 
Stretcher. 



r -9 

r 
Umuuum.LL.ii.iuiiiiii— i 

Board Stretcher 
for Skunk. 



44 HOME MANUFACTURE OF FURS 

A thin board stretcher in one piece with a 
narrow "sword stick" on each side will fully 
stretch and cure the skin faster and better than 
where only the outside is exposed to t ; air. 
When fully dry removing the swords relieves the 
skin of the stretching equally as well as with- 
drawing the wedge of the other style. As to the 
dimensions of these boards it must be borne in 
mind that animals vary greatly in size in differ- 
ent sections of the country. 

The two illustrations of stretchers for skunk 
which are shown as 30 inches long and 8 at base 
can be made larger or smaller for skunk of var- 
ious sizes as well as for other animals, the skins 
of which are handled cased. Some use boards 
that are more pointed thus stretching skins 
longer, especially the head and nose. 

Bj laying the unskinned animal on its back 
and marking around it near the end of the fur 
the approximate size and shape for a stretcher 
can be obtained, but it is well to have such things 
prepared in advance, so will give some of the 
proper sizes. The measurement given as shoulder 
is usually about 1/3 or i/4 the entire length, from 
the nose. 

Mushraty (dimensions in inches). Length 
20 to 24. Base 5 to 7. Shoulder 4 to 614. 

Mink, Marten. Length 18 to 28. Base 2% 
to 43/4. Shoulder 2 to 414. 



STRETCHING AND CURING FUR SKINS 45 

Weasel. Length 16. Base 2 to 21/2. Shoul- 
der 1% to 2. 

Opossum^ Skunk. Length 25 to 30. Base 
6 tc B. Shoulder 5 to 614. 

Raccoon. Length 28 to 32. Base 8% to 
10%. Shoulder 6^ to 81/0. 

FoWy Fisher. Length 42 to 45. Base 6% to 
8. Shoulder 5 to 6. 

Otter. Extra long so tail can be tacked out. 
Length 48 to 72. Base 6 to 814. Shoulder 5 
to 6%. 

Lynou, Coyotes. Length 60 to 66. Base 11. 
Shoulder 7 to 9. 

Animals the size of raccoon and larger re- 
quire boards V2 to % inches thick, for smaller 
ones % inch thickness is sufficient. 

These stretchers are inserted in the skins as 
they are removed, with fur side in, back on one 
side of the board, belly on the other, the skin is 
drawn on snugly and tacked at the hind feet, 
then the wedge or "swords'^ as the case may be 
are pushed in until it is fully stretched sideways, 
when a few more tacks across the base will se- 
cure it. 

Skunk should have the tail spread and se- 
cured with a few tacks, and the otter's tail re- 
quires spreading and tacking at short intervals 
its entire length. 



46 



HOME MANUFACTURE OF FURS 





The front legs of lynx and coyote may be par- 
tially distended by pieces of thin board like lath 
or by bent twigs. 

Kaccoon are 
sometimes s k i n- 
ned, cased and 
stretched on a 
board shaped like 
the cut herewith. 
The back of the 
skin is placed on 
the long edge of 
this board, how- 
ever, and when 
dry it is cut 
down the front, 
making an open skin of this shape. Many skins 
are stretched open on the barn door, but the 
method of lacing in a hoop or frame is far su- 
perior, as it allows the air access to both sides 
and they are easily hung out of reach of dogs 
or other animals. Bear and similar sizes require 
rectangular frames well braced, while round or 
oval hoops suit smaller skins. 

These and the larger frames may be made in 
the woods of saplings lashed together with cord 
or wire. A sacking or sail needle with heavy 
twine is used to lace the skins in place and the 
lacing should be in four pieces, so that each side 



ONE PIECE STRETCHER FOR OPEN 
RACCOON 



STRETCHING AND CURING FUR SKINS 47 

can be loosened or stretched separately. Beaver 
are given an oval shape two or three inches 
longer than they are wide, raccoon nearly rec- 
tangular. 

Use plenty of stitches or tacks to avoid 
drawing out in points. Stretching a ''coon" 
skin with six nails does not enhance its value. 
Large tacks are easiest to handle and the brass 
headed upholstery variety suit for small skins, 
with wire shingle or box nails for large ones. 

Never ^'peg out" skins if any other way to 
stretch is possible, as the necessary slits around 
the edge disfigure the skin and the dampness of 
the ground will hardly aid in drying, while ex- 
posed to both weather and animals. Many skins 
of polar bear are stretched thus for want of suit- 
able material for drying frames in the Arctic 
where they are killed, and leopards and jaguars 
from the Tropics often receive the same treat- 
ment, though not for the same reason. 

After a skin has been properly taken off and 
stretched it should be hung in some cool, dry, 
airy place until dry, before removing from the 
boards, with the exception that fox, marten and 
lynx are left two or three days until partially 
dried, then removed, turned fur side out and re- 
placed. Do not cure furs in the sun or near a 
fire. Under a wagon shed, a bough house or a 
tent fly is a good place, or thick tree shade will 
do. Sometimes in camping it is necessary to 



48 HOME MANUFACTURE OF FURS 

pack up and move before skins can be thoroughly 
dried, and in such a case they may be exposed 
to a little lire heat to dry the flesh sides so they 
will not stick together. 

If the w^eather is cool they will often keep 
for some time without stretching or curing. We 
once dressed a bunch of South American foxes, 
(thirty days from the Straits of Magellan by 
steamer), that had never been stretched or dried 
and but little fur slipped. 

Trappers usually skin their catch along the 
trap line and carry the pelts turned fur out, so 
leaves and dirt will not stick to them, to head- 
quarters for stretching and curing. 

The skin of a frozen animal is all right so 
long as it remains frozen, but should be removed 
when thawed out. Do not expose to intense heat 
in the thawing process or the fur may be injured 
before the flesh is thawed. 

Much of this and the preceding chapters will 
be unnecessary to many readers, as of late years, 
handlers of fur skins have informed themselves 
of the most up-to-date methods, still I have seen 
a professional furrier stretch a green fox skin 
on an inch board, hacked into a rough shape with 
a hatchet. 

When furs are thoroughly dry remove from 
the boards, string in loose bunches and hang in a 
cool room, preferably a rather dark one, as too 
much sunlight will fade most furs badly. 



CHAPTER IV. 

HANDLING OTHER SKINS AND HIDES. 

THOUGH intended for the dresser of skins, 
as the hides of all furbearers and other 
animals not larger than the deer are 
classified, it may be well to refer briefly to the 
handling of what are, strictly speaking, hides 
and of some smaller fur bearing skins also. 

It is not our intention to direct how to turn 
heavy hides into leather, as to do so with any 
success or profit requires special and expensive 
apparatus, but only some points on their taking 
off and curing, before sending to a regularly 
equipped tannery. 

The domestic animals liable to fall into our 
hands for skinning and curing are the horse, 
cattle, goat, sheep, pig, dog and cat. Remove the 
skins of all these except perhaps the cat, as di- 
rected in skinning animals open, making as few 
unnecessary cuts and jagged useless points and 
tags as you can. In the case of horned cattle 
split up the face and cut around the horns, re- 
move all pieces of flesh and fat, spread out level 
on ground or floor and use plenty of coarse salt 
on the flesh side. If they are to be shipped green, 

49 



50 HOME MANUFACTURE OF FURS 

heavy hides should rematti thus for two days. 
On the third day turn over and salt well over 
the hair side, roll up flesh side out and ship in 
box or sack. 

If desirable to dry the skin out to lighten 
transportation or to store it, after lying in the 
salt two or three days hang up over some poles 
until nearly dry, when it can be rolled or folded 
up with the hair side in. The skins of deer, 
moose and elk maj be treated in the same way. 

Don't leave hides lie around in a pile after 
skinning. To do so for an hour while the animal 
heat is in them may ruin them. Don't be stingy 
with salt, an extra five cents worth may save 
dollars and can hurt nothing. 

In cool dry weather quite heavy hides may 
be cured without salt by simply drying, but 
would not advise trying it if salt is to be had. 
Keep them in the dry while curing, under a roof 
if you can. 

The skins of goats, sheep, dogs and pigs may 
be laced in frames and cured without the use of 
salt quite readily. Dog skin, while not a very 
durable leather, can be used in many ways, and 
I have often wondered why it was not utilized 
to a greater extent in this country. Domestic 
cats receive treatment identical with their wild 
relatives. 



HANDLING OTHER SKINS AND HIDES 51 

There is g^uite a list of marine mammals an 
occasional skin of which may tnrn up, and more 
rarely the skin of some large fish. Among these 
are the seals, both fur and hair, sea lions, walrus, 
manatee, shark, ray, porpoise and even whale. 

The seals and sea lions are usually skinned 
by making a single cut from chin to tail fiippers 
along the under side and may be stretched and 
dried in a hoop, but are mostly salted without 
stretching. Most of the others on the list have 
another cut made down the back separating the 
skin in two sides which are salted without 
stretching. 

The only species of whale the skin of which 
is utilized to any extent is the beluga or white 
whale, the skin of which is known as ''porpoise 
leather," and is extremely adaptable for foot 
wear. The infrequent skins of fish to be dressed 
are salted to cure them also. 

Frogs, lizards, snakes and most commonly 
alligators, represent the class of reptiles furnish- 
ing work for the skin dresser. Frogs and lizards 
are skinned open and salted, as the skins of all 
reptiles should be, in order to attain the best re- 
sults in dressing. Snakes are split down the 
center of the under plates or scales from head to 
tail tip before skinning. Salt (with fine salt) if 
possible, if not, tack on a board in the shade until 
dry, then roll up. 



■ % -^ ■ , 



'i^; 









>i 



/iK 



-'»i 




I 'V 










ALLIGATOR SKINS — UNDER 
SURFACE AND HORN BACK 



52 



HANDLING OTHER SKINS AND HIDES 53 

In removing alligator skins two methods are 
followed, the most common being to cut the skin 
from the head to tail along each side of the horny 
ridge of the back. Cuts are made running from 
these longitudinal ones, to and along the middle 
of each of the legs on their outer sides. After 
cutting around the jaws the skin is peeled off in 
one piece. This is the usual method in the Gulf 
States where the horny back skin is not saved, at 
least from the larger specimens. 

The skins from Mexico and Central America 
are opened by a cut, from lower jaw to tail in the 
middle of the under surface of the animal, with 
cuts along the inner sides of the legs from the 
wrists to the central line. This preserves the 
back entire, making the so-called ^'horn alliga- 
tor'' leather: Great care should be used in skin- 
ning, as knife cuts which are hardly noticeable 
in the raw skins become so apparent when dress- 
ed as to damage such skins greatly. 

Immediately on removing, the inner surface 
of the skin should be carefully rubbed with fine 
isalt, taking care to work it well into all folds 
and crevices. Fold the edges and skin of legs in, 
roll the skin up in a compact bundle and place 
in a cool, dry place. Never let the alligator hides 
dry out but after curing somewhat, salt again 
and pack in tight boxes or barrels, using plenty 
of salt. 



54 HOME MANUFACTURE OF FURS 

Formerly only the skin from the underpart 
and sides of this animal were used, as the back 
is so heavily armored with liornj^ plates that it 
was considered useless for leather except in the 
case of very small hides. Improvements in hand- 
ling have made it possible to prepare the back 
almost as readily as the thinner parts, and the 
demand for such is mostly supplied by skins 
from Central America and Mexico, most of which 
have the back preserved entire. Skins from the 
United States are seldom cut ''horn back" be- 
cause they are not as flexible on the back as the 
Mexican variety. 

The heads and paws are often left on small 
■skins and mounted on the hand bags and satchels 
made of the leather. Large ''gator'' paws, dress- 
ed and furnished with clasps, make unique 
purses which find ready sale as souvenirs. 

Hides over ten feet in length are seldom used 
owing to the hardness of the cuticular plates, 
making it difficult to so tan them as to have any 
value for purposes of leather, though some as 
long as seventeen feet have been prepared. 

Bird skins are occasionally wanted dressed, 
usually the breasts of water fowl, such as grebes, 
ducks, loons and swans. The skin of the under 
part of the bodies of these birds is removed in 
one piece and stretched flat by tacking on a 
board. They are used for trimming hats and 



HANDLING OTHER SKINS AND HIDES 55 

coats and sometimes for muffs and collarettes 
also. The Indians of the North sometimes make 
a raincoat of loon breasts, which sheds water 
very well. 



CHAPTER V. 

STORING AND SHIPPING RAW FURS. 

RAW furs should never be shipped in a 
green, uncured state even for short dis- 
tances if it can be avoided. Unforseen 
occurrences may prevent delivery when expected 
and part or all of the shipment may be spoiled. 
If raw skins recently taken off are salted for two 
or three days and then rolled up with plenty of 
salt the chances will be better, but such packages 
need either a tight container or plenty of absorb- 
ents packed with them, as they are liable to drip 
moisture. The best plan is to stretch and dry 
all fur skins thoroughly. This not only prevents 
spoiling en route but greatly decreases the trans- 
portation charges. 

Fatty skins should be well fleshed also ; they 
are liable to be held in hot, close cars and ware- 
houses, and the fat and grease, which must be 
removed anyway, will help to make the express 
charge higher. In packing furs, lay them flat 
with as little bending and folding as possible. 

Skins with the fur side out shoulc" not be 
placed next the flesh side of others, but wrapped 
separately. Tie or bale all packages tightly with 

56 



STORING AND SHIPPING RAW FURS 57 

the coarser skins on the outside. Do not ship 
one eased skin inside another. Fold large skins 
with legs, head and fur inside. 

Skunk skins that are scented may not be 
shipped by express or parcel post unless in a 
tight container. As this is hardW practicable or 
profitable, with a few skins at least, such skins 
should be de-odorized. To remove the odor of 
skunk from clothes or skins, soak them for thirty 
minutes to an hour in gasoline, wash well in it, 
wring out and hang in the open air until it evap- 
orates. Don't do this near a lamp or fire of any 
kind and don't try to smoke while doing it. Out- 
doors is the best place to operate. If skins are 
scraped first, nearly all grease will be removed 
by this, but an additional process is necessary to 
clean the fur completely. Handlers of raw furs 
will do well to remember that a little gasoline 
will remove evil odors and grease from the hands 
at once. 

When shipping raw skins by parcel post it 
is a good plan to wrap them in a piece of either 
old or new oilcloth before the final paper wrap- 
ping, as they will be thrown out of the mail if 
there is danger of the grease injuring other ar- 
ticles. 

Express packages are best sewn up in burlap 
or cloth, even large bales of skins handling nicely 
with a double wrapping of burlap. All packages 




NORTHERN FURS— OTTER, FOX, LYNX 

Note the color and heavy fur. Photo from "Fur Buyers' Guide," 
which explains value of raw furs. 



58 



STOKING AND SHIPPING RAW FURS 59 

s-hould be marked plainly inside and out with 
address of shipper and consignee. 

Unless skins are thoroughly cleaned and 
cured they are apt to suffer during a sea voyage, 
the moist, close atmosphere of a ship's hold being 
particularly favorable to the development of 
mold and mildew. 

When shipping skins for dressing or sale on 
approval they should all bear some mark, for 
even where the honesty of all parties concerned 
is beyond question, some confusion and mistakes 
are almost certain to occur where similar skins 
are handled in large numbers. Furs sent on ap- 
proval are generally sealed with a metal, ( tin or 
lead), seal and seal press, a small duplicate of 
that used on box car doors. Paper tags with 
price or other marks are threaded on the wire or 
cord loop. 

Skins for dressing must be marked other- 
wise, as the seals would be in the workman's 
way. Raw Skin Stamps, consisting of a mallet 
or hammer, the face of which contains steel pins 
arranged to form various letters, are used for 
this purpose by furriers and dressers. The skin 
is laid on a block of rubber or a pad of some 
kind and struck a blow with the stamp, perforat- 
ing it in the design of the stamp. This perfora- 
tion is usually at some certain spot, as the center 
of the back, between the ears or at the base of the 




NORTHWESTERN FURS — WILD CAT, MINK, MARTEN, 
BEAVER, WEASEL, MUSKRAT, WOLF 

(Photo from "Fur Buyer's Guide" — see page 286.) 



60 



STORING AND SHIPPING RAW FURS 



61 




o 
oo 
o o 



OOo 
O OOO OOO 



O O 
o_ .O 



cPOo 



o 

OO 



MARKING RAW FURS 



tail, where it cannot well be cut aAvay and does 
not injure the fur at all. 

An i n e X- 
pensive mark- 
ing apparatus 
is easily made 
for a few cents, 
and will answer 
all p u r p o s es 
where a small 
number of skins are to be handled. On a slip of 
sheet metal, tin, copper or brass, 1x3 inches, 
write or scratch your initials, and laying it on a 
wooden block with a hammer and awl prick the 
letters through. Smooth this on the back with a 
file and placing it on the skin to be marked, per- 
forate through the holes in the marking plate 
with a sharp, slender awl. Additional letters 
or figures can be made to mark certain skins or 
lots of skins. Skins taken for dressing, if valu- 
able, should be marked in the presence of cus- 
tomer or witnesses to avoid controversy. 

To store raw furs over summer without cold 
storage is a risky proceeding in all except the 
Northern States, and one involving quite a little 
trouble. Probably the best way to keep any 
quantity would be to hang the skins, free from 
fat and flesh, in loose bunches in dry, cool and 
rather dark rooms. 



62 HOME MANUFACTURE OF FURS 

Various moth cleterents are used, such as 
naphthaline, tobacco, etc., but unless the room is 
about air tight they seem to do little good. An 
open dish of carbon bisulphide will make insect 
life absolutely impossible in a tight room, but the 
vai>or from it is so highly explosive and inflam- 
mable it is seldom used except in museum cases. 

A few skins well cleaned can be wrapped 
well separately and kept in tight paper bags in 
an airy loft or similar place, but for the holding 
over of any considerable amount of raw furs, 
storage at or about the freezing point is best. For 
such storage they may be tightly baled, reducing 
the charges to a minimum, as they are calculated 
on the cubic space occupied principally^ 

Cattle hides are frequently treated to pre- 
vent damage by insects during the summer by 
sprinkling them on both sides with a solution of 
arsenic made as follows: 

Ked or White Arsenic 10 lbs. 

Concentrated Lye .4 oz. 

Water 8 gals. 

Put the arsenic and lye in a tub, pour the 
water over them and let stand a week. Mix one 
part of this with live parts of water and use in a 
garden sprinkler, or a sprayer would be more 
economical. 

A shipper who packs his furs in good shape 
gives us these simple directions for baling so as 



STORING AND SHIPPING RAW FURS 63 

to make a neat looking bundle substantial 
enough to arrive at its destination in good shape 
and look its best when opened. 

Take a box with a bottom the size you wish 
the bottom of your bale of furs to be, and turn it 
bottom down on the floor near the wall. Then 
spread a piece of burlap on it large enough to 
hang over the edges a. few inches all around. 
Put on this a piece of heavy paper a little smal- 
ler tlian the burlap. Now lay on your furs in a 
flat square pile the shape of the box. Brush the 
fur out straight and smooth as you place them 
in the pile. When all are in place cover with 
paper and burlap similar to that at the bottom. 

Cover the top of the pile with several pieces 
of board crosswise of the bale. Nail a cleat to 
the wall somewhat below the top of the pile and 
catch one end of a scantling or heavy board un- 
der this cleat. This lever should come lengthwise 
of the bale and when well pressed down, get some 
one to hold it or fasten it, while you fold the 
edges of paper and burlap in neatly on both 
sides. With a sail needle and cord sew the bur- 
lap together along the sides, remove the lever, 
fold in and sew the ends and you have a trim, 
secure bundle. Put a stout cord around it 
lengthwise and crosswise a couple of times to 
furnish something to handle it by, tie the ship- 
ping tags on and the bale is ready for shipment. 



CHAPTER VI. 

INDIAN SKIN DRESSING. 

WHILE the art of fur and skin dressing 
is at its greatest efficiency at the pres- 
ent time, probably the American Indian 
was at one time the best dresser of American ani- 
mal skins, and the art of tanning as practiced 
now has been graduall}^ evolved from primitive 
processes. 

A writer says on this subject in regard to 
the European race : ^'The ancients detaclied the 
flesh from the skins with sharpened stones and 
dried them in the sun, after which they were 
rubbed with oil or grease extracted from the in- 
testines of the slaughtered animals, and a polish 
was added to the skins by rubbing them with 
porous stones. 

The hides of bullocks, horses and other large 
animals were used to make the tents which shel- 
tered the early Patriarchs, and the skins of the 
leopards, tigers and smaller animals supplied the 
wearing apparel with which they were able to 
glorify themselves before their fellowmen. 

At a later period the adhering particles of 
flesh remaining on the skin when it was wrench- 

64 



INDIAN SKIN DRESSING 65 

ed from the animal were removed with bone, 
stone and iron instruments, and the sliins were 
washed so as to open the pores and cleanse them 
from dust and dirt. After this was done they 
were exposed to the frost. 

^^Later still it was discovered that the skins 
would be greatly improved by plunging them 
into water containing a solution of alum, and 
then putting them into vinegar. These baths pro- 
tected the skins from rotting. After they had 
been dried in tlie shade the skins were moistened 
again and beaten, stretched and otherwise manip- 
ulated until they Avere supple, clean, and free 
from disagreeable odors." 

Probably the best description of Indian skin 
dressing was written by Catlin in 1832 while 
among the Crows and Sioux. Paintings made by 
him at that time, now in the National Museum, 
show squaws unhairing and dressing buffalo 
hides laced in a frame and pegged on the ground. 
The work is described as follows : 

"The Crows, like the Blackfeet, are beauti- 
fully costumed, and perhaps with somewhat 
more of taste and elegance; inasmuch as the 
skins of which their dresses are made are more 
delicately and Avhitely dressed. The art of dress- 
ing skins belongs to'the Indians in all countries; 
and the Crows surpass the civilized world in the 
beauty of their skin-dressing. The art of tanning 










--^l^'l !iV 11 



' ^il' 



66 



INDIAN SKIN DRESSING 67 

is unknown to them, so far as civilized habits and 
arts have not been taught them; yet the art of 
dressing skins, so far as we have it in the civi- 
lized world, has been (like hundreds of other 
ornamental and useful customs which we are 
practicing) borrowed from the savage, without 
our ever stopping to inquire from whence they 
come, or by Avliom invented. 

^'The usual mode of dressing the buffalo and 
other skins is by immersing them for a few days 
under a lye from ashes and water, until the hair 
can be removed, when they are strained upon a 
frame or upon the ground, with stakes or pins 
driven through the edges into the earth, where 
they remain for several days, with the brains of 
the buffalo or elk spread upon and over them, 
and at last finished by ^graining,' as it is termed, 
by the squaws, who use a sharpened bone, the 
shoulder-blade, or other large bone of the animal, 
sharpened at the edge, somewhat like an adze, 
with the edge of which they scrape the fleshy side 
of the skin, bearing on it with the weight of their 
bodies, thereby drying and softening the skin and 
fitting it for use. 

^•The greater part of these skins, however, 
go through still another operation afterward, 



which gives them a greater value and renders 
them much more serviceable — that is, the process 
of smoking. I'or this a small hole is dug in the 



&-'uIMl 



I ! ' 






v.. " i 









ir ! 






i ^ii I 



l;U 



^S^il ill 



I'l i; 



"^ * V •>V/ ;■! mill j M r : /■ 

! 1 f 










CO 

I— I 

M 

CO 

O 
I— I 

H 

Q 
"A 
< 

CO 
CO 

W 
P4 
Q 

^ 

o 

I 

Ph 

<: 

Q 

!z: 



68 



INDIAN SKIN DRESSING 69 

ground, and a fire is built in it with rotten wood, 
which will produce a great quantity of smoke 
without much blaze, and several small poles of 
the proper length stuck in the ground around it, 
and drawn and fastened together at the top, 
around Avhich a skin is wrapped in form of a tent, 
and generally sewed together at the edges to se- 
cure the smoke within it. Within this the skins 
to be smoked are placed, and in this connection 
the tent will stand a day or so, inclosing the 
heated smoke; and by some chemical process or 
other, which I do not understand, the skins thus 
acquire a quality which enables them, after be- 
ing ever so many times wet, to dry soft and pliant 
as they were before, which secret I have never 
yet seen practiced in my own country; and for 
the lack of wliich, all of our dressed skins, when 
once wet, are, I think, chiefiy ruined. 

"^^An Indian's dress of deer skins, which is 
wet a hundred times upon his back, dries soft; 
and his lodge also, which stands in the rains and 
even through the severity of winter, is taken 
down as soft and clean as when it was first put 

up. 

"A Crow is known wherever he is met by his 
beautiful white dress, and his tall and elegant 
figure; the greater part of the men being six 
feet high. The Blackfeet, on the other hand, are 
more of the herculean make — about middling 



70 HOME MANUFACTURE OF FURS 

stature, with broad shoulders and great expan- 
sion of cliest ; and the sldns of which their dress- 
es are made are chiefly dressed blacl?:, or of a dark 
brown color, from which circumstance, in all 
probability^, they, having black leggins or mocca- 
sins, have got the name of Blackfeet." 

The same writer refers frequently to the skin 
clothing worn by the Indians, both men and 
women, as being especially well dressed, as no 
doubt it was. Time being of no object to the 
Indian of that day, the squaws would bestow 
unlimited labor on choice skins for the making of 
special costumes, and then as now, elbow grease 
was the most useful ingredient in tanning. 

The African Kaffirs make durable leather, 
and some creditable work is turned out by the 
Eskimos who labor under the disadvantage of 
yerj low temperatures prevailing much of the 
time, which always renders dressing slower and 
more difficult. 

Skin dressing tools of hard polished stone 
often with fair cutting edges and shaped to fit 
either the hand or a wooden haft, are found in 
most collections of stone age relics. Some of 
these are shaped like the blade of a howel or 
round edged adze and were hafted and used in a 
similar manner, the hide being spread on a piece 
of level ground, with a portion of it stretched and 



INDIAN SKIN DRESSING 71 

held firmly between the feet of the operator while 
it was thinned and softened by chipping strokes. 

The woman's knife of the Eskimo of a semi- 
lunar shape persists in the saddler's knife and 
the moon knife of the tanner ; its only descendant 
in most households being the kitchen chopping 
knife. 

Although the country abounded with sourc- 
es of tannic acid, such as the various barks, 
acorns, etc., their properties seem to have re- 
mained as unknown to the native Americans as 
did those of the various metals. Salt and the 
alkalies seem to have never been used either, the 
hair being set by careful drying on skins wanted 
with the fur on and the softness and pliability in 
all cases secured by a liberal use of grease, both 
animal and elbow. 

Buckskin, Indian style, is made about as fol- 
lows : After removing the skin from the deer let 
it lie in clear water or a mixture of water and 
ashes until the hair and grain (epidermis) will 
slip readily. Then remove and throw over a 
beam where it is first fleshed and then grained 
with either an iron or hardwood graining knife. 
The brains have been removed from the head of 
the deer and boiled for an hour in about a gallon 
of water. 

Let this water stand until it cools so the 
hand can be held in it, then put in the grained 



72 HOME MANUFACTURE OF FURS 

skin and work continually for two or three min- 
utes by squeezing, wringing and stirring, then 
take it out, wring it and pull and stretch in all 
directions as it dries. If not soft enough heat up 
and put in again, work and dry as before. 

If it is still a little hard apply a small 
amount of grease, work it in thoroughly and then 
smoke it over a fire of dozy or punky wood. Such 
half decaj^ed wood is preferred, as it gives off the 
maximum amount of smoke with little flame. 
Contact with flame or severe heat while smoking 
will burn and injure the buckskin. 

The Indian method of smoking buckskin by 
erecting a pole frame of suitable size and conical 
shape, covering it with the skins to be treated, 
loosely laced together, and building the fire in 
the center gives equally as good results but prob- 
ably no better than the white man's smoke house. 

In dressing fur skins, the hide was fleshed 
Avithout the soaking to remove the hair or fur 
which was kept as dry and clean as possible. 
The skin was stretched out and the brain water 
applied several times to the pelt side only. It 
was then pulled and rubbed until soft, in much 
the same manner as the buckskin. No especial 
process was used to cleanse the fur, and as a 
consequence it was often greasy at the edges and 
more or less dirty and odorous. For this reason 
fur skins dressed by the Indian methods are not 



INDIAN SKIN DRESSING 73 

much in demand nowadays. There is no doubt, 
however, that Indian dressed and made skin gar- 
ments served their purpose admirably when use 
and not ornament was the end principally de- 
sired. Though their handling Avas defective in 
many waj'S such skins would last as long under 
the hard usage as any, the comparatively light 
wear and careful treatment given furs among 
civilized people being chiefly responsible for their 
long lasting qualities. 

It is nothing unusual for rugs, robes, and 
garment furs to be in use for from twenty to 
Mtj years and remain in good order, but it must 
be kept in mind that such furs are used only dur- 
ing the coldest months and carefully stored dur- 
ing the remainder of the time, very different from 
the conditions obtaining in Indian life. 

There are some articles of Indian manufac- 
ture still on the market, articles for which the 
more advanced civilization seems not to have 
produced a duplicate. Probably because the 
labor involved seems so much out of proportion 
to the results. The manufacture of Indian Robes 
is so interesting that it has been made the sub- 
ject of our next chapter. 



CHAPTEK VII. 

INDIAN FUR ROBES. 

THE writer's first recollections of a fur 
robe, over forty years ago, are of a pecu- 
liar smelling woolly ''Buffalo" hide, 
which he was told had been tanned by the In- 
dians. It was sold in the East for |5.00, and had 
probably been purchased with a pint or so of 
diluted alcohol. Until the practical extermina- 
tion of the buffalo the Indian dressed robes held 
the market, and a better protection from cold 
and storm has never been found. 

The scarcity of large fur bearers and the 
cheapness of heavy woven blankets have lessened 
the demand for fur robes, but a few examples of 
native work are still sold and in use. Some of 
the most notable of these are the robes of guan- 
aco and vicuna skins made by the natives of Pata- 
gonia, South America. 

The skins of the guanaco, a wild variety of 
the llama, are chiefly used, and are sewed with 
sinew in wonderfully even stitches. The oil 
dressed skins are prone to crack and the sinew 
to stiffen with age until it becomes like fine wire, 
but the native plan of joining the skins is calcu- 

74 



INDIAN FUR ROBES 75 

lated to reduce the waste to a minimum and en- 
title the makers true conservationists. 

Kows of skins joined head to tail are alter- 
nated across the width of the robe, as the woolly 
pelt makes it unnecessary to run it all the same 
way. By this method the entire skin of the body 
and legs is utilized, any tabs and scraps trimmed 
off being used to fill out the edges. Sometimes 
a narrow border of a darker variety is added, and 
robes of the softer fur of the vicuna are also made 
by the same people. 

Such robes as these are quite valuable, and 
when furnished with a light cloth lining are well 
suited for carriage wraps or couch covers. They 
make fine camp blankets, light and warm, and 
are in demand for bed covers in the scattered 
ranch houses of Patagonia. 

The Eskimo where in contact with whites 
make some robes chiefly of seal skins. Quite 
elaborate patterns are sometimes worked out in 
these using pieces of skin in contrasting colors. 
It is said that the Boethicks, natives of New- 
foundland, owe their extinction to the robes and 
clothing of valuble furs which they were so skill- 
ful in taking and preparing. 

The unprincipled white adventurers and 
trappers of an early day found it easier and more 
remunerative to shoot down and rob them than 
to capture the fur bearers themselves, and a weak 



76 HOME MANUFACTURE OF FURS 

and inoffensive tribe was hunted and harried out 
of existence before any adequate protection could 
be given them, 

A peculiar form of fur robe known as the 
Rabbit Skin Blanket is still made occasionally 
by the Indians of some parts of Canada. The 
best description of its mode of manufacture and 
use has been written by a former employee of the 
Hudson Bay Company, Martin Hunter, to whom 
Ave are indebted for the following : 

"•'Some thirty years ago many of the Indians 
along the northern shores of Huron and Super- 
ior, Lake of the Woods and on to the Red River 
and away up in the far North, not only used 
rabbit-skin blankets or robes, but also coats, 
skirts, caps, etc., made from the skins of these 
little animals. Young children being clothed 
from head to foot, cap, coat, pants, mitts and 
socks all being made of rabbit-skins, and thus 
dressed they could stay out of doors and face tlie 
most extreme cold with impunity. 

^'In the olden days a blanket made out of 
rabbit-skins was traded at our shops for one o-f 
equal size of imported wool. The young genera- 
tion, however, are above either making or using 
the home-made blanket, the construction of which 
is fast becoming one of the lost arts. 

"A blanket the size of a H. B. blanket, SVi 
point, i. e., five feet six inches long by five feet 



INDIAN FUR liORES 11 

broad, required the skins of sixty rabbits, and a 
blanket of the 4 point size, i. e., 6>^ feet long by 
6 feet broad, requires 75 skins. 

"Winter skins only are used, and as skinned 
from day to day. They are kept out in the frost 
until such time as the good wife of the tepee de- 
cides to cut them up into strips. 

"The skins are first opened up the belly and 
are flattened out like coon skins. When the re- 
quired number are at this stage, the woman or 
young girl begins cutting. She varies the breadth 
of the strips according to the part of the skins 
she is at that time cutting. The belly or thin 
portion in breadths of an inch and the back or 
thick part of the hide one-half inch wide. Each 
skin properly cut should give a length of from 
fifteen to eighteen feet long. 

"As each skin is cut the strip is either baled 
or folded in a short coil, squeezed close together 
and placed in a cool, damp i3lace, and so on till 
the required number of skins are finished. 

"A frame is made of four dry peeled poles 
crossed at the four corners and tied securely. 
The size of the square is from four to six inches 
larger at top and sides than the proposed blanket 
is to be. It is then propped up against the shack 
or a tree at an angle and a backing of number 
nine twine is secured around the inside of the 
frame about four inches from the poles. The 



78 HOME MANUFACTURE OF FURS 

backing or cord is kept in place by being laced 
to the poles with smaller twine and then it is 
ready to take on the skins. 

"The looping of the strips is worked from 
side to side. A slight twist is given to the strips 
as the work goes on. The smaller the loop or 
mesh the heavier the blanket, and consequently 
a greater number of skins are required. 

''When these blankets were in general use the 
Indians had light weight ones for spring and 
heav3^ ones for the winter. 

''Some of the women used long, narrow, 
wood needles such as net needles to carry the 
strands Avhen weaving, but the majority simply 
worked up the strips by hand, giving as I have 
said a slight twist to the strand as each loop or 
mesh is made. This gives it a ropy appearance, 
which makes the hair stand out all around. Each 
time the edge is arrived at, the strip is passed 
over twice. This gives it strength, and makes 
with the twine a strong border to the rug. 

After the blanket is completed, allow it to 
remain in the frame for a day or two to dry, then 
unlace the small twine you had to keep it in place 
and the blanket falls out, ready for use. 

Notwithstanding you can shove your thumb 
or two or three fingers through the loops or mesh- 
es, it alone is warmer than several woolen blan- 
kets. The three objections to a rabbit-skin 



INDIAN FUR ROBES 79 

blanket are : it is bulky, heavy, and the hairs come 
out continually, but when one is in the bush they 
generally wear old, greasy clothes, and don't 
worry about their being covered with hairs so 
long as they sleep warm. 

It is hardly to be credited the degree of cold 
one can withstand when using one of these 
blankets or sleeping bags. When one travels with 
dog-teams, the weight and bulk of the blanket is 
not of so much consequence, but when one has to 
back-pack their requirements, a bush man prefers 
to freeze a little at nights rather than to be over- 
loaded. 

Sleeping bags are made of rabbit-skins for 
the company's employees who travel long dis- 
tances by dog-team in the far North. From the 
feet up to the chest it is sewed all the way. The 
man slips his legs into this, resumes a recumbent 
position and laces it up to his chin. Attached to 
the back is a hood. This he adjusts on his head 
before lacing up, and there he is with only a 
small portion of the face exposed. 

My first enlightenment as to the warmth of 
a rabbit-skin bag was on Lake Nepigon. I was 
traveling in February with two half breeds from 
the shore of Lake Superior. One of the days we 
were on Lake Nepigon it was bitterly cold. Night 
was coming on apace and we had to reluctantly 
camp at the lea of Gros Lap, a wind swept point 



80 HOME MANUFACTURE OF FURS 

in the body of the Lake. Amongst the debris of 
rocks which had fallen down from the side we 
managed to find a space sufficiently large to make 
our fire and spread a few branches for our bed. 

Charles de Laroud, one of my men, said he 
was not going to sleep in a hole like that but 
would take his bag after supper and sleep on the 
ice. I looked at him in amazement and said he 
would certainly freeze. It was clear moonlight 
and I saw him walk out fifty yards from the 
shore, get into his bag, drop onto the ice, whistle 
his dogs about him, and that was the last of 
Charlie until next morning when he arose, 
walked to shore, came into the fire circle and 
smiled quite serenely. 

Though I had a pair of heavy H. B. blankets 
and a fire was kept up all night, sleep for me was 
only by short intervals at a time. At daylight I 
took reading of my thermometer and found it 
registered 38 below zero, which was a pretty se- 
vere test to the rabbit-skin bag. Although 
Charles had passed ten hours out on the ice he 
assured me he never felt cold. On reaching Nepi- 
gon post I secured a rabbit-skin bag for myself 
and on the balance of the trip north found its 
value. 

Some of the post people use rabbit-skin 
blankets in the houses as quilts or bed spreads, 



INDIAN FUR ROBES 81 

but tliey cover them with some fancy print to 
prevent the hairs spreading out. 

Large sized blankets at the present day cost 
from seven to ten dollars each, and by writing to 
the Hudson Bay's Agent at either Fort Williams, 
Lake Superior; Montizambets, Lake Superior; 
or Nepigon House, Lake Superior, one might be 
secured, but time would have to be given for its 
manufacture, as they are not kept for sale." 

Having handled these blankets (though 
never used them) I should say there is little 
doubt as to their warmth and lightness, but their 
inclination to shed hair would hardly commend 
them to most housekeepers. Dressing the skins 
before weaving would hardly prevent this, as the 
fur of the native rabbit has little durability. 
Perhaps if the skins were stretched and treated 
Avith some preservative they might be basted to- 
gether and enclosed between covers of light cloth 
as a layer of cotton or wool is, in making bed 
comforts. Tying this at frequent intervals would 
keep the fur filling in place. Where rabbits 
abound this plan would be worth trying and the 
expense would be small, rabbit skins being worth 
hardly more than a cent apiece. 

The H. B. Indians use the skins of the North- 
ern Varying or White Hare, but presume those 
of the Cottontail or Jack Rabbit could be worked 
in a similar manner. 



82 HOME MANUFACTURE OF FURS 

The natives of Central America and those of 
Hawaii at one time made most beautiful feather 
robes, but it is doubtful if an}^ of them are pro- 
duced at the present time. Those made in 
Hawaii were so rare that only royalty ever pos- 
sessed them. 



CHAPTER VIII. 

TOOLS AND APPLIANCES FOR TANNING AND DRESSING. 

THE older methods of dressing furs, before 
the introduction of machinery, followed 
about the same program as at the present 
time, but was carried on by foot and hand power 
exclusively. Now, however, most fur' dressing 
shop« supplied with power contain : 

Washing Tanks, of wire revolving in a tank 
of water. 

Dryers, or Whizzers, wire baskets revolving 
very rapidly to throw the moisture out of the 
skins. 

Cleaning Drums, to extract the grease with 
dry and heated sawdust. 

Beating Drums, to remove the dust from the 
fur. 

Beaming Mills, for thinning skins. 

Tramping or Pounding Machines, for soften- 
ing skins. 

Drying Chambers, where the air is kept in 
motion with fans, besides many other tools for 
hand work. 

I shall endeavor to give details of the most 
important of these as they chiefly concern the 
dresser on a small scale. 

83 



84 



HOME MANUFACTURE OF FURS 




The Beam. One or more of these is neees- 
sarj and can be made of a hard^YOod slab about 
36 inches long, hinged to an upright so as to be 
adjustable or fixed at an angle of about 45 de- 
grees. 

A good Beam is frequently made of a slab or 

log about seven 
feet long, fitted 
with* two legs 
two feet from 
one end and 
with the other 
resting on the 
A LOG FUR beam floor. Another 

form is merely 
spiked on top of two upright posts of the proper 
heigh th. It is well to have two beams, one much 
smaller than the other to suit large and small 
skins. 

Tubs. For soaking, washing and pickling 
skins several half barrels, lard or butter tubs will 
answer the purpose of vats. They should be of 
Avood, for all operations except washing or soak- 
ing with gasoline or benzine. 

Knives. Fleshing, also called beaming or 
breaking knives. There are a number of styles 
in this tool, such as the small single edge, large 
double edge and the combination smooth and 



TOOLS AND APPLIANCES 



85 




FUR BEAM, NOT ADJUSTABLE. GOOD FOR TWO MEN 
OR LARGE HIDES 





Light Weight for Small Work. 
Length of Blade, 8 inches . . • $100 

FLESHING KNIFE— SMALL SINGLE EDGE 




FLESHING KNIFE— DOUBLE EDGE 




FLESHING KNIFE— SMOOTH AND TOOTHED 



86 



HOME MANUFACTURE OF FURS 



toothed edge. A small draw shave makes a fair- 
ly good knife for beaming small skins. A large 
rasp drawn out to a tang for a handle at both 
ends and also worked to a double edge by a smith 
and with teeth filed in one edge makes a small 
toothed flesher or breaker. 

These makeshifts will answer for experi- 
ments or an oecasional skin but the regular skin 
dresser's tools are to be preferred. 

The Curkier^s or Skiving Knife is a neces- 
sity when any but the lightest skins are to be 
dressed, as with it the thicker parts are pared 
down, reducing skins to a uniform thickness. 

This knife has 
a detachable 
blade on each 
side, the edges 
of which are 
ground as one 
would a chisel 
and afterward 
turned over at a right angle by the use of a turn- 
ing steel made for that purpose. This knife 
Avorks after the manner of a plane, cutting off a 
shaving at each stroke, thick or thin according to 
the depth of the turned edge. Considerable prac- 
tice Avill be necessary to use this tool without in- 
flicting ugly cuts on an inoffensive skin, and it 
is necesary to sharpen the blade frequently from 




CURRIER OR SKIVING KNIFE 



TOOLS AND APPLIANCES 



87 



time to time with the small finger steel, as the 
crystals of salt in a skin soon take the keen edge 
off. 

When not in use, all steel tools should be 
kept heavily oiled to prevent rusting. A small 
skin may be scraped with a hand scraper and 
shaved down with a shoe knife or small draw 
shave on a half round piece of wood, bolted or 
screwed to the work table top. These small tools 
are also necessary to work around the heads, 
feet and tails of large skins. 

A fair hand scrap- 
er may be made b}^ 
heating the blade of a 
screw driver, hammer- 
ing it out broad and 
bending it at right 
angles like a hoe 
blade. Use a file to 
HAND SCRAPERS uiakc Small teeth on 

Made of Shave^Hook and Screw- fj^^ ^^^^^ ^ plumb- 

er's shave-hook may 
have similar teeth filed along one side and be 
used for the same purpose. 

A substitute for the skiving knife is not 
easily made, though for small skins a wood scrap- 
er blade ground and the edge turned may be suf- 
ficient. 





88 



HOME MANUFACTURE OF FURS 





For breaking up and softening the partly 
dry skins a dull fleshing knife is sometimes used 

also the crutch 
or moon knife 
and the staking 
knife. The moon 
knl;fe, consist- 
ing of a circu- 
lar steel blade 
clamped to a 
crutch shaped 
wooden handle 
is also used in 
fleshing skins. 
In using this 
tool the skins 
are clamped in 
a stretching frame and the crutch placed under 
armpit of the operator who can in this way use 

the weight of his 
bod}^ in the pro- 
cess. The blade 
of an ordinary 
kitchen chopping 
k n i f e may be 
hafted and used 
in a similar way. 
The Stretch- 

TANNERS' STRETCHING FRAME ING FrAME COU- 



(1) TANNERS "MOON" OR CRUTCH 

KNIFE. 

(2) HOME MADE SUBSTITUTE AL- 
SO CALLED "SHOULDER STAKE" 



/A 



/A 



b 



TOOLS AND APPLIANCES 



89 



sist's of two iipriglits connected by a crosspiece, 
with a second crosspiece hinged at one end, ar- 
rang'^ed to clamp tightly on the first. Lt may be 
either a fixture or portable, but should be made 
of stiff scantlings 2 x 4 in size at least. The 
porable frame is leaned against the wall when 
in use. 

A Stake Knife for stretching skins, has for 

a foundation a piece of 
two inch plank about 
12 by 24 inches with a 
three foot upright mor- 
tised and braced in the 
center and fitted at the 
top with a piece of 
steel (saw blade) about 
five or six inches 
square, the corners 
slightly rounded. 

Unlike the leather maker the tanner and 
dresser of furs uses no splitting machines on ac- 
count of the fur roots, but must reduce tiieir 
thickness by other means. Emery or sandpaper 
are used on power driven wheels and b}^ hand. 
Sandpaper can be glued to the surface of a curved 
block of wood and the same fastened in a vise 
where the skin is drawn back and forth over it. 
The block should be of two inch wood, six to ten 




STAKE KNIFE FOR 
"BREAKING" SKINS 



90 



HOME MANUFACTURE OF FURS 



inches square with a crosspiece screwed to the 
back to provide a hold for the vise or tne hand. 
Drum. When a number of skins are to be 
cleaned some kind of a drum is necessary. Those 
used in the large shops are about four feet wide 
and about six or eight feet in diameter. The 
cleaning drums have either several shelves six 
inches wide or the same number of rows of wood- 
en pegs, on the interior circumference. A num- 













SANDPAPER BLOCK 



ber of skins with a quantity of very fine dry hard- 
wood sawdust is placed in the drum and after 
revolving steadily for three or four hours at 
about twenty revolutions per minute the fur will 
be clean and soft but full of sawdust. 

The beating drums of similar size with wood- 
en ends and sides of i/4-iiich mesh wire cloth are 
supplied with wire mesh shelves which catch the 
skins and carry them nearly to the top whence 
they drop against the wire cloth covering the 
drum's circumference thus cleansing the fur of 



TOOLS AND APPLIANCES 91 

sawdust. Both cleaning and beating drums are 
often enclosed in wooden closets, the former heat- 
ed by steam jjipes or charcoal that the grease and 
oil may be extracted and the latter to prevent the 
sawdust flying about. 




CLEANING DRUMS AS USED IN LARGE ESTABLISHMENTS 

For hand work a barrel or box placed on an 
axle with crank attached has been found to work 
well in cleaning. An opening fitted with a cover 
is made in one side through which the skin with 
a quantity of sawdust is thrown in, the cover 
clamped on, ard the barrel revolved, so as to keep 



92 



HOME MANUFACTURE OF FURS 



tlie contents moving. A box hung by the corners 
like a type of churn once popular would insure 
a thorough agitation of the skins and sawdust. 

For a hand beating drum I would recommend 
one made with octagonal heads and covered with 
Avire cloth. Large skins are best beaten with rat- 
tans and an ordinary woven wire bed spring will 
hold them, nicely during the process, letting the 






FUR DRUM MADE OF BOX 



dust fall through. The furniture beaters sup- 
plied by the stores are suitable for small skins. 

The Tramping Machine consists of two 
wooden hammers, Avhich are moved alternately, 
up and down and back and forth, in a suitable re- 
ceptacle, stirring the skins constantly and devel- 
oping by friction the necessary heat to render 
them soft and pliable. Before beginning this 



TOOLS AND APPLIANCES 93 

operation srnj skins not naturally fat or oily are 
greased with some animal fat. 

The original method, which is still practiced 
for the choicest pelts is termed Tubbing. In this 
a tub or half hogshead placed on the floor, slight- 
ly inclined, has a number of oiled skins with 
usually a small amount of sawdust put in it. The 
workman with barefeet takes his place in the tub 
and ties around his w^aist a piece of heavy cloth 
or bagging already fastened about the top of the 
tub. This serves to retain the heat and prevent 
the dust from flying about during the two or 
three hours treading and twisting necessary to 
thoroughly soften or leather the skins. 

A clothes pounder or washerwoman's "dolly" 
may be made to take the place of the feet in the 
softening or Tubbing process. Twisting, wring- 
ing and rubbing with the hands as in washing 
clothes will serve the same purpose, but it is a 
tiresome process and one for which the hand 
seems hardly suited. 

Combs of at least two sizes will be needed by 
the dresser to put the fur in order and straighten 
any tangles. They are made of steel, brass and 
german silver. The steel is the cheapest and must 
be kept well oiled to prevent rusting which the 
other metals are not so liable to. A coarse and 
fine combination comb is made which is very 



94 



HOME MANUFACTURE OF FURS 



handy. Robe combs, resembling an infant gar- 
den rake, are suitable for the largest skins. 

Much experimental work can be done with 
very few tools and very creditable work too, but 
improved appliances and especially those run by 
power do certainly lessen the drudgery of skin 
dressing and enable a few hands to turn out a 
vast volume of well finished furs in a short time. 




FURRIERS' STEEL COMBS 



Tramping and Beating and Cleaning Ma- 
chines handle large quantities of skins at once 
and even then do not require the operators entire 
attention, and though skins so treated may need 
some hand labor in addition to complete the pro- 
cesses, the machines take care of the great bulk of 
it. 

Your good right arm and a rattan will beat 
a skin as Avell as the electric beater, if you don't 
get tired too soon. A delicate skin can be soften- 
ed and leathered better by the human hands and 



TOOLS AND APPLIANCES 95 

feet than by any machines devised to date. Good 
hand tools are not very expensive and will great- 
ly expedite the dressing of ordinary skins. 

The Eskimo women soften skins frequently 
by chewing them, an appetizing process which we 
will hardh^ care to emulate, however effications it 
may be. 



CHAPTEE IX. 

TANNING MATERIALS AND TERMS. 

AS lias been already explained the dressing 
of fur skins is quite different from the 
process of tanning leather or proper tan- 
ning. So too, the materials used are very differ- 
en.t in most cases. 

In leather tanning, extracts or infusions are 
often made use of from various barks and leaves, 
but the action of such is quite slow, being a mat- 
ter of weeks or even months before the skins im- 
mersed in such tan liquors are completely tanned. 

Another objection to the use of barks, etc., is 
the fact that such material often contains also 
considerable coloring matter, usually brown, 
which would affect the fur put in it. In some in- 
stances this is not undesirable, such as dressing 
sheep skins for linings, etc. By concentrating 
the vegetable extracts the process of tanning will 
be reduced especially for light skins. 

Some of the barks containing the most tan- 
nin are : White Ash ; White, Eed, Chestnut and 
in fact all varieties of the Oaks; Sumac; Hem- 
lock, and Chestnut. Acorns and the leaves of 

96 



HOME MANUFACTURE 
OF FURS AND SKINS 



/■^^'^ry^S'^ 



' ^/^ 






«.; 



4-. 





MINK SKINS, CASED- (RAW) AND DRESSED 



TANNING MATERIALS AND TERMS 97 

these trees also contain mucli tannin. Mavweed, 
Sweetfern, Smartweed and Alfalfa may be used 
for the same purpose. 

To prepare for use the barks, leaves or plants 
are broken, cut or ground into small pieces and 
then left to steep or leach in water to extract the 
strength. Terra Japonica also known as Catechu 
is much used in tanning but it also contains much 
brown dje. Salt is universally used in preparing 
skins either by itself or in combination with 
other things. The coarse form is commonly used 
on account of the lower price, fine salt can be 
used for all similar purposes and is to be pre- 
ferred for rubbing on skins in the powdered form 
or for making pastes for application to the flesh 
sides of skins. Salt opens the pores of the hide, 
and lets in the tan and prevents decomposition 
of the skin. 

Alum is probably one of the first mineral 
agents to be used in fur dressing. It is an as- 
tringent, sets the hair and epidermis, and with 
other ingredients helps to render the skin im- 
pervious to water. Alum, however, hardens and 
shrinks a skin, both of which qualities are the 
opposite of what is desired. Its great disadvan- 
tage lies in its plumping or thickening proper- 
ties. An alum cured skin shaved and thinned 
down from the inside and then replaced in a salt 
and alum bath, for a day or two, will be found 



98 HOME MANUFACTURE OF FURS 

on removal to have plumped up to nearly its orig- 
inal thickness. 

If two freshly salted skins of the same kind 
of animal are placed at the same time, one in a 
salt and alum solution and the other in an acid 
tan and left there a week or so the difference will 
be readily apparent. The alum cured skin will 
be stiff and harsh, the other not increased in 
thickness and more pliable than when put in and 
will require but a comparatively short time to 
beam and thin dow^n. It is almost impossible to 
dress out the fur of some animals, to look fluffy 
and natural after immersion in an alum solution 
and it is apt to leave any hair stiff, dry and with- 
out gloss. 

In the case of half spoiled specimens, alum 
will save the day if anything will. Some times 
an animal will be received in the flesh on which 
the hair is starting to slip. If it pulls out easily 
on any part of the body and limbs it is too late, 
but if only the lower part of the abdomen seems 
disposed to slough, quick work and plenty of 
alum may save it in very fair condition. 

Except in the case of rare or valuable speci- 
mens this is not to be advised as the handling of 
such skins in the first stages of decay is always 
more or less dangerous. Such skins should be 
snatched off without delay and immersed in a 
strong, warm solution of salt and alum. The 




99 



100 HOME MANUFACTURE OF FURS 

alum in this acts as a powerful astringent draw- 
ing together the fibers around the root of each 
hair and binding together the cutis and epider- 
mis. 

Acids are used in skin dressing to destroy 
the gluten and also aid in cleaning both fur and 
hide. Sulphuric and Oxalic are the acids in 
principal use. Sulphuric is the more violent in 
action and great care should be used in handling 
it in a clear state. It should never be allowed to 
come in contact with the hands, clothing or hides 
before being diluted Avith water, milk or other 
liquids. 

Dilute Acetic Acid in the form of Vinegar 
and weak Lactic Acid as sour milk or buttermilk 
are made use of. Borax and Saltpetre are used 
to hasten tanning by softening and penetrating 
the skins in a similar manner to salt and Glau- 
bers Salt. 

Lime, Red Arsenic and Wood Ashes or Pot- 
ash are used to remove hair or fur from skins to 
be used as leather. Flour and Bran are ingre- 
dients in tanner's pastes and liquors. Various 
combinations of oils and soaps serve to soften 
tawed skins and in cleaning, Soda, Benzine, 
Gasoline, Sawdust, Meal and Magnesia serve 
useful purposes. 

In the j)reparation of skins terms for the 
various -operations have sprung up, which may 



TANNING MATERIALS AND TERMS 101 

puzzle the uninitiated; to take them in about 
their sequence some of them are as follows : 
Soaking^ relaxing, a cured skin, rendering it flexi- 
ble enough to be held on the fleshing beam. 
Fleshing, removing the muscular inner coat with 
the bits of flesh, fat, etc., to open up the true 
skin to chemical action. 

Graining, removing the hair and epidermis from 
skins to be made into leather. 

Pickling^ soaking in the various tanning or taw- 
ing solutions. 

Sleeking, working liquid preparations out of 
skins by pressure and scraping with tools. 

Skiving or Currying, paring or reducing the 
thickness of skins. 

Stretching or Breaking, separating the fibre of 
a partly dried tawed skin. 

Staking, using the stake knife for breaking or 
fleshing. 

Whizzing, extracting the moisture by centrifu- 
gal action. 

Tubbing, softening or leathering tawed skins by 
working in a tub with the feet or mechanic- 
ally. 

Plucking, removing the over or guard hairs of 
the pelt, usually done immediately after 
fleshing. 



102 HOME MANUFACTURE OF FURS 

Drumming, revolving the skins inside of drums 
for the purpose (a) removing grease and 
cleaning the fur, with hot dry sawdust or 
similar material, and (b) beating or agitat- 
ing the furs to remove such sawdust remain- 
ing in them. 

Liming, soaking in solution of lime in water. 

Bating^ removing the salts of lime from a skin 

by acid fermentation. 
Samming, partly drying skins. 
Scouring, washing. 

Striking Out, sleeking or working watery solu- 
tion out of a skin. 
Handling, stirring about, working. 

Often if the common name of some material 
is known to us it can be easily procured and at a 
slight cost. P^'or instance, take the formula used 
for the salt and alum pickJe No. 10. Oxide of 
Hydrogen 1 Cong., heat to 212 degress and add 
Sulphate Aluminum and Potassium 16o, Chlor- 
ide of Sodium 4o. This is much more intelligible 
if we say: To a gallon of boiling water add a 
pound of alum and a quarter pound of salt. Be- 
low is a list of 

Common Names of Some Chemical Substances. 
Aqua Fortis — Nitric Acid. 
Aqua Regia — Nitro-Muriatic Acid. 
Blue Vitrol — Sulphate of Copper. 



TANNING MATERIALS AND TERMS 103 

Cream of Tartar — Bitartrate of Potassium. 

Calomel — Chloride of Mercury. 

Clialk — Carbonate of Calcium. 

Salt of Tartar — Carbonate of Potassa. 

Caustic Potassa — Hydrate of Potassium. 

Chloroform — Chloride of Gormyle. 

Common Salt — Chloride of Sodium. 

Copperas or Green Vitrol — Sulphate of Iron. 

Corrosive Sublimate — Bichloride of Mer- 
cury. 

Diamond — Pure Carbon. 

Dry Alum — Sulphate of Aluminum and Po- 
tassium. 

Epsom Salts — Sulphate of Magnesia. 

Ethiops Mineral — Black Sulphide of Mer- 
cury. 

Fire Damp — Light Carbureted Hydrogen. 

Galena — Sulphide of Lead. 

Glauber Salt — Sulphate of Soda. 

Glucose — Grape Sugar. 

Goulard Water — Basic Acetate of Lead. 

Iron Pyrites — Bisulphide of Iron. 

Jewelers' Putty — Oxide of Tin. 

King Yellow — Sulphide of Arsenic. 

Laughing Gas — Protoxide of Nitrogen. 

Lime — Oxide of Calcium. 

Lunar Caustic — Nitrate of Silver. 

Mosia Gold — Bisulphide of Tin. 

Muriate of Lime — Chloride of Calcium. 



104 HOME MANUFACTURE OF FURS 

Niter of Saltpetre — Nitrate of Potash. 

Oil of Vitrol — Sulphuric Acid. 

Potash — Oxide of Potassium. 

Red Lead — Oxide of Lead. 

Rust of Iron — Oxide of Iron. 

Sal Ammoniac — Muriate of Ammonia. 

Slacked Lime — Hydrate of Calcium. 

Soda — Oxide of Sodium. 

Spirits of Hartshorn — Ammonia. 

Spirit of Salt — Hydrochloric of Muriatic 

Acid. 
Stucco, or Plaster Paris — Sulphate of Lime. 
Sugar of Lead — Acetate of Lead. 
Verdegris — Basic Acetate of Copper. 
Vermilion — Sulphide of Mercury. 
Vinegar — Acetic Acid (diluted). 
Volatile Alkali — ^Ammonia. 
Water — Oxide of Hydrogen. 
White Precipitate — Ammoniated Mercury. 
Wliite Vitrol — Sulphate of Zinc. 



CHAPTER X. 

TANNING FORMULAS AND RECIPES. 

No. 1. 
ALUM TAWING SOLUTIONS. 

Salt 14 lb. 

Alum, crystals or powdered . . 1 lb. 
Water 1 gal. 

Heat to dissolve the salt and alum and when 
luke warm or cold immerse the skins. 

No. 2. 

Water 1 gal. 

Salt (about 1% lb.) 1 qt. 

Alum ( about 1 lb. ) 1 pt. 

Heat to boiling and cool. 

No. 3. 

W^ater, warm 1 gal. and add 

Bran 1 qt. 

Allow to stand in a warm room 24 hours or 
until it ferments, then heat and add 

Salt lib. or 1 pt. 

Alum 1 lb. 

Let cool before putting the fleshed skins in. 

105 



106 HOME MANUFACTURE OF FURS 

No. 4. 
BARK SOLUTION. 

To prepare this, fill a pot or kettle half full 
of bark ground or broken into small chips and 
then fill with water and steep until the strength 
is extracted, to simmer it for about three hours 
is best, add about two ounces to the gallon if 
the skins have been salted or four if not. The 
stronger the solution the quicker the action, but 
it will be well to allow three weeks at least to 
tan. 

No. 5. 

DRY TANNING TO BE APPLIED TO THE FLESH SIDE 
ONLY OF SKINS. 

Alum 21/2 lb. 

Salt 1 lb. 

Oatmeal .1 lb. (or flour) 

All finely powdered and dissolved in enough 
sour milk or buttermilk to the consistency of 
cream. Coat the flesh side. 

No. 6. 

Alum .1 lb. 

Saltpetre 1 lb. 

Salt 2 lbs. 

Mix thoroughly and sprinkle on the flesh 
side evenly. 



TANNING FORMULAS AND RECIPES 107 

No. 7. 

Water 1 gal. 

Alum 21/2 lb. 

Salt 1 lb. 

Heat the water to dissolve, and when cool 
brush on the flesh side of the dampened skin. 

Any of the solutions used to immerse skins 
in may be brushed on the flesh side in this way. 
Lay the skins flesh sides together in pairs or if 
a single skin, double it up flesh in and leave in a 
cool place. Eepeat this dressing of paste or 
liquid once or twice a day for two or three days, 
the point being to keep it damp with the chemi- 
cals until they penetrate. 

A rather strong sulphuric acid solution is 
often used in this way, and I will give two for- 
mulas for this. 

No. 8. 

Water 2 qts. 

Salt 1 lb. 

Sulphuric Acid 1 oz. (fluid) 

No. 9. 

Water 1 qt. 

Salt 4 oz. 

Sulphuric Acid 1 oz. 

Dissolve salt in water first then add the 
acid. 



108 HOME MANUFACTURE OF FURS 

The No. 9 will, if the skin is well soaked, tan 
light or thin skins in about twelve hours, or over 
night. The No. 8 requires about twenty-eight 
hours for the same skins. I would not care to 
recommend these strong acid solutions if they 
are left in the leather without washing out or 
neutralizing, as they are liable to shorten the life 
of the same. 

Some directions for dressing furs caution 
never to wet the fur side; that is all nonsense. 
They have all of them been y^et hundreds of times 
on the animals' backs without hurt and almost 
without exception they need cleaning before they 
are fit for use as clothing for civilized people. 
Immersion in preservative or tanning solutions 
also tend to curb the enthusiasm of moths and 
such destructive insects for using the finished 
product as a bill of fare. 

Long continued soaking in some of these 
pickles does not injure a skin in the least, as 
taxidermists often use their jars of sulphuric or 
alum pickle to store skins for weeks and months, 
in some cases years. Personally I prefer the 
following : 

No. 10. 

SULPHURIC TAN LIQUOR. 

Water . . . ., 1 gal. 

Salt 1 qt. 

Sulphuric Acid 1 oz. (fluid) 




RAW RACCOON SKIN - AVERAGE SOUTHEAST SECTIONS 

109 



110 HOME MANUFACTURE OF FURS 

Bring water to boiling to dissolve the salt, 
and cool before adding acid. 

Don't lean over it while pouring and stirring 
the acid in ; the fumes are not specially beneficial. 
As many skins may be put in as it will cover 
readily, but the strength will be about spent after 
tanning say about one skin the size of a fox or 
raccoon to each two quarts of the liquor made 
up. Keep it in wood, earthen or glass ware, 
never metal. Alum solution No. 2 may be used 
in the same way. 

No. 11. 

OXALIC ACID TAN LIQUOR. 

Water 1 gal. 

Salt 1 pt. 

Oxalic Acid (pulverized) ... .2 oz. 

This is especially adapted to light skins 
which will tan in six to twenty-four hours. 

No. 12. 

SULPHURIC ACID WITH MILK. 

Sour Buttermilk 1 gal. 

Water 1 gal. 

Salt 11/2 lbs. 

Saltpetre 2 oz. 

Borax 1 oz. 

Sulphuric Acid 8 oz. 




DRESSED GREY FOX SKIN— AVERAGE SOUTHEAST 
SECTIONS 



111 



112 HOME MANUFACTURE OF FURS 

Dissolve the salt, saltpetre and borax in the 
water, add the buttermilk and last of all the acid, 
stirring well. Put the soaked and fleshed skins 
in this and stir them about every hour or so for 
three or four hours for light skins. When tanned 
remove, \\'ring and wash out. 

Washing solutions are varied, but for wash- 
ing out acid liquors should contain some alkali 
like soda which neutralizes any acid remaining 
in the skin. Use to a pail of water a handful of 
washing soda. Some take % lb. soap, 2 ounces 
soda to the pail of lukewarm water. Einse after- 
wards in clear Avater. It is a good plant to put 
the skin on the beam and "sleek'' it with a dull 
fleshing knife or a piece of hard wood or metal, 
that is, scrape over it, pressing the liquid out 
ahead of the tool. This helps clear and open the 
pores. 

It is impossible to give the exact treatment 
for any given skin, being governed by the dress- 
er's personal ideas and the state of the individual 
skin, both of which naturally vary much. 

To dress a skin by an application to the flesh 
side only would call for a program something like 
that in the first column, while the second would 
show about what the skin immersed in an acid 
liquor would undergo. If the dry dressed skin 
was Yerj fat it would require another round of 
the sawdust and beating drums. 



TANNING FORMULAS AND RECIPES 113 

No. 1 No. 2 

Soak. Soak. 

Flesh. Flesh. 

Pickle. Pickle. 

Dry. Wash. 

Oil. Rinse. 

Stretch. Gasoline. 

Drum. Drum. 

Stretch. Beat. 

Drum. Stretch. 

Beat. Oil. 

Drum. 
Beat. 
Fat skins in the second treatment would re- 
quire a degreasing soak in gasoline after fleshing 
and before pickling. 

For making buckskin the hair is removed 
before tanning and frequently an unprime or 
damaged skin of a furbearer can be utilized by 
making into leather. The most common soak to 
remove hair or fur is made in the following pro- 
portion : 

No. 13. 

Water 5 gals. 

Slacked Lime 4 qts. 

Hardwood Ashes 4 qts. 

The fresh or relaxed skins are left in this 
one to six days, until the hair or fur starts read- 
ily. A more rapid acting application is made of 



114 HOME MANUFACTURE OF FURS 

No. 14. 

Water 1 qt. 

Eed Arsenic 1 lb. 

Unslacked Lime . 1 lb. 

Boil tlie Avater and arsenic, let it cool and 
add the lime. Paint this on the flesh side of a 
skin, (fresh or soaked), fold it together and let 
it lie 12 or 15 hours, when the hair will probably 
be ready to scrape off. Unfortunately nothing 
has been concocted, to date, which will make fur 
grow on a skin either raw or dressed. 

There are many, many more formulas for fur 
tanning, most of which will produce fair results 
when combined with two ingredients, common 
sense and elbow grease, and without those any of 
the foregoing will be useless. 

Some people still retain the idea that there 
is some magical poAvder or chemical with which 
a skin may be sprinkled or saturated that will 
render it at once and forever soft and pliable, 
something as the photo developer brings out the 
image on the exposed negative. Would that it 
were so, but the best that has been done so far 
is to discover materials that are quicker acting 
and to transfer part of the most severe and mo- 
notonous w^ork to machines. 



CHAPTER XI. 

PRELIMINARY WORK^ SOAKING, FLESHING^ 
DE-GREASING. 

SKINS which have been just taken off need 
no soaking, as the object of it is to soften 
and relax them so they may be flattened on 
the beam for fleshing, or the removal of the inner 
muscular coat. Most tawing liquors will relax 
a dried skin but it will take much longer than 
when clear water or a special soak is used. 

Using the tan liquid to soak unfleshed skins 
weakens it considerably, as there is quite an 
amount of muscle, fat, etc., to absorb it, besides 
the skin proper. Thin and weak skins it is often 
necessary to treat so, however. 

In cool weather iskins may be soaked in clear 
water, but as even then they require close watch- 
ing and should not be left long in a damp state, 
a weak salt solution is best to use. One of the 
best is for, say, four skins the size of fox or rac- 
coon. Use : 

Water * 4 gal. 

Borax % oz. 

Soap 1 oz. 

Salt % pint 

Sulphuric Acid % fluid oz. 

115 



116 HOME MANUFACTURE OF FURS 

Before adding dissolve the soap in % pint 
of water (or use % pt. soft soap). If tlie skins 
have been salted the salt may be omitted. The 
acid aids in setting the hair ; do not use if the skin 
is wanted without hair for leather. Mix thor- 
oughly and immerse skins two to six hours. 

When desired, skins may be softened and in 
fact completely dressed without wetting the fur, 
though this is hardly practical with work of any 
amount, and I think most skins are benefitted by 
the thorough cleansing they get in the various 
wet solutions. To soak or relax a flat or oi)en 
skin without wetting the fur, brush the flesh side 
all over with either the solution given or one 
made by dissolving a good handful of salt in a 
pail of water. Saturate a quantity of sawdust 
with the soak and laying the skin on bench or 
floor, flesh side up, cover it with the damp saw- 
dust. A cased skin should be laid on a layer of 
damp sawdust and completely covered with the 
same. The sawdust must contain enough mois- 
ture so that a few drops may be squeezed from a 
handful. 

On the inside of sundried skins will be found 
a tough, glazed surface which must be cut and 
scraped away after a little soaking so that the 
liquor may enter and thoroughly relax the skin. 
As good a plan as any is to put a number of skins 
to soak and take them out and partially flesh 



PRELIMINARY WORK 



117 



them one after the other, replacing in the soak 
until entirely softened. 

Thorough relaxation and fleshing is essential 
to good dressing, as it opens the pores and makes 
them accessible to the solutions used. 




BEAMING AND PLUCKING BEAVER SKINS 
(Plucking is Pulling Out the Long or Guard Hairs) 



To flesh, throw a skin on the end of the beam 
and by pressing against it with the chest, hold it 
in place w^hile by shoving the fleshing knife from 
you the inner muscular skin with adhering flesh 
and fat is removed. Some direct that the fleshing 



118 HOME MANUFACTURE OF FURS 

be from the tail toward the head, so as to run the 
right way of the hair roots, but this can hardly 
be necessary; the skin shouJd be stretched in all 
directions both side and lengthways. Use a 
toothed flesher to break the glaze on large dry 
skins, then soak till they can be fleshed jnd 
stretched. Light skins are sometimes pounded 
before soaking to hasten the process. 

The stretching may be done on tlie stretching 
frame, and if the skin dries during the process 
dampen it by brushing the flesh side with either 
water or soaking or tanning pickle. Skins damp- 
ened with the pickles may be safely left for some 
time in that condition, but if soaked in clear 
water they should be either dried out or put in 
tan or the hair may soon slip, especially in warm 
weather. 

Fresh skins should be salted for a day or two 
before fleshing, as then the salt will have hard- 
ened the tissues so the knife will take hold of 
them better. 

The method of using a draw-knife and pull- 
ing it toward the operator is not a good one, as 
it is necessary to hold the skin by driving an awl 
through it into the beam, thus punching the skin 
full of awl holes or tearing it. The head, feet and 
any places not accessible with the large flesher 
are attended to with hand scrapers and a small 
knife. 



PRELIMINARY WORK 119 

Skins which are to be plucked are treated 
to that process now, after washing clear in warm 
soap water. Use one-half pound of soap and two 
ounces of washing soda in a bucket of water at 
about 90 degrees for this washing. Wring out 
and shake to dry the fur but keep the skin damp. 
Some tack the skin to a board, fur out, and dry 
it in the sun or near a fire. When the fur is dry 
try if the overhair will pull out readily. If not 
keep the back of skin damp until it does, brush- 
ing it with clear water if it gets dry. 

When the over-hairs start easily, cover the 
beam with a firm pad of several thicknesses of 
blanket or something similar and put the skin on 
it fur up. Then with the fleshing knife rub out 
nios't of the over-hairs by careful working. Pow- 
dered chalk is sometimes sprinkled on the hair 
first. Any hairs not removed by this are pulled 
out by hand. Protect the right thumb with a 
rubber cot and taking a dull knife in that hand, 
draw the skin over the edge of a table or board 
and as the long hairs come into view grasp them 
between the protected thumb and knife blade and 
pull them out with a quick jerk. 

Skins that seem very greasy may be rid of it 
by soaking now for an hour in gasoline, wringing 
out of it and hanging in the air to dry before 
placing in the tan. Regular fur dressers depend 
mostly on repeated and lengthy ^'drumming" to 



120 HOME MANUFACTURE OF FURS 

clean skins as benzine or gasoline is quite ex- 
pensive and the wastage is considerable, but for 
the amateur without power machines it will 
prove of great assistance. 

The large dry cleaning establishments, re- 
distill dirty gasoline and recover it as clean as 
ever but for our purpose a few settling cans will 
answer, as if it stands for a few hours most of 
the dirt will be precipitated and the comparative 
clean liquid may be poured off. Water also be- 
ing heavier than gasoline will take its place at 
the bottom of the can, but oils and fats combine 
more or less with the volatile liquid. Gasoline 
used for cleaning white furs may be used again 
on dark ones and again for the de-greasing before 
tanning. For the cleaning after tanning it may 
be used repeatedly, as but little grease should 
be present then. 



CHAPTER XII. 

SOFTENING AND CLEANING SKINS. 

THE dressing or tanning of furs may be 
roughly separated into three stages, the 
first of which is the soaking, fleshing, etc., 
which tends to open the pores and made quick 
and ready action of tanning chemicals possible. 
In the second, the giue is dissolved, the fibres sep- 
arated and the hair set by these substances. In 
many cases they also help to clean the skins by 
cutting the albumen and oil of blood and grease 
among the fur. The subsequent washing carries 
off much of this as well as salts and acids, which 
if left in the pores of the skin would impair its 
usefulness. 

The final treatment is the softening and 
cleaning which may be described in one word, 
work. In order that a skin may be equally soft 
in all parts it should be approximately of the 
same thickness all over, so the hide along the 
back, back of the neck and at other spots must be 
thinned by knife, sandpaper or other means. 
Thin skins are often left till now after the taw- 
ing for this, as there is but little to be removed 
from them while large thick hides should be 

121 



122 



HOME MANUFACTURE OF FURS 



shaved down before beginning or at least before 
completing the tawing process. Frequently they 
are taken out of the liquor after a short immer- 
sion and partly thinned, returned and again re- 
moved to complete the shaving. 




SHAVING MINK SKINS IN A LARGE ESTABLISHMENT 



The first step on freeing a skin from the 
liquor should be to spread it and hang on a line 
or frame in a dry, airy place until the moisture 
is partly out. If left to themselves fur skins will 
contract and shrink in drying, the fibres binding 



SOFTENING AND CLEANING SKINS 123 

and gripping together making the whole skin 
stiff and unfit for use. This should be prevented 
by pulling and stretching the skin in all direc- 
tions when half dry and keeping up the process 
until it is fully dried out, with the fibres in such 
a condition that a piece of the hide may be 
stretched in first one way and then another. 
Small skins may be laid on the beam with a pad 
underneath them and stretched with the fleshing 
knife, and large ones taken to the stretching 
frame, where the operator puts his weight into 
the operation of the crutch knife or in some cases 
to the stake knife, which performs a similar part 
in breaking up and loosening the fibre. 

If the skin is to be cleaned with benzine or 
gasoline it should be soaked now for thirty min- 
utes to an hour, wrung out and put in a cleaning 
drum or cleaned by hand in a tray or tub. The 
dust from veneer saws is the best but any fine 
hardwood sawdust may be used, and common 
corn meal answers very well. Without a drum 
the meal should be heated quite warm and put 
in a box or tub with the skin or skins. Stir and 
roll the skins about until the fur is completely 
filled with the meal, then shake and beat it out, 
repeat the process until the fur is dry and fluffy. 

Stretch the skin again and then coat the in- 
side of it with an oil or oil dressing of some sort 
to complete the softening, and replace the na- 



124 . HOME MANUFACTURE OF FURS 

tural un combined oil which has been in great 
part extracted. There are almost as many oil 
dressings as fur dressers, and we will not at- 
tempt to enumerate them all. Usually they are 
composed in great part of animal fats and oils, 
but some advocate using mineral oil sometimes. 
Some of the best compositions for this purpose 
are : 

OIL DRESSING RECIPES 

(a) 

Soft Soap 1 pt. 

Neatsf oot Oil 1 pt. 

Alcohol % pt. 

Mix and rub into the flesh side. . 

(b) 

Yolk of Egg 8 oz. 

Glycerin 4 oz. 

Apply sparingly and rub in well. 

(c) 

Tallow T^ , , 

NeatsfootOil Equal parts 

Apply a good coat, about as thick as the hide, 
hang up till dry, then scrape off the grease and 
apply a thin coat of solution of soft soap. Let 
stand twenty-four hours, then scrape well and 
clean. This is good for heavy robe skins. 



SOFTENING AND CLEANING SKINS 125 

(d) 

Yellow Soap 2 parts 

Fine Oatmeal " 1 part 

Make into a paste with water and alcohol. 
Make several daily applications, working it in 
well each time. 

(e) 
Mix a thin paste of flour and water, bring it 
to a boil and add butter or lard until the oil 
appears on top, cool down to lukewarm and coat 
the flesh side of skins with it. Let lie for twelve 
hours and then stretch. 

Sperm, neatsfoot, kerosene oil, vaseline, but- 
ter, lard and viscol are all used in softening 
skins. When any oil or oily composition has 
been worked into a skin it should, after suflicient 
softness is attained, be drummed or worked in 
sawdust, meal or other absorbent to remove any 
surplus. A mild heat while working the oil in 
will assist the operator, hence the efficacy of the 
tubbing process. The warmth from the work- 
man's body and feet together with that set up 
by the friction being just about sufficient. If a 
skin dries too much to be readily broken and 
stretched it should be dampened again until in 
proper condition. After a little experiment it is 
easy to determine when a skin is in the best shape 
for breaking up and stretching, by the way it 
will whiten when stretched. 



CHAPTER XIII. 

SMALL OR LIGHT FURS. 

THE skins of animals not larger than the 
wolf or sheep are usually so classed, and 
thus would comprise about all the furs 
most commonly used. In dressing these we have 
personally had best results from using liquids 
No. 10 and No. 11 after thoroughly fleshing and 
opening up. 

The length of time they should remain in 
cannot be exactly specified, the lower the tem- 
perature the longer it will require, and a par- 
tially spent solution will need more time than a 
fresh one. On taking from the tan, wash and 
rinse thoroughly, soak from one-half to an hour 
(according to the amount of grease) in gasoline, 
wring out, and work in heated sawdust or meal, 
alternately working it into the fur and beating it 
out until the fur is clean and dry. 

The skin will not be dry yet, so hang in a 
dry place, in the air if possible, until the leather 
begins to dry out. Beam or stretch with crutch 
or stake knife at intervals until dry . Probably 
along the back, neck, etc., it will seem stiff er than 
elsewhere. If a good durable skin, thin down 

126 



SMALL OR LIGHT FURS 127 

these places with curriers knife, turned edge 
scraper or sandpaper block. 

Treat the inside of skin to a coat of oil or 
oil dressing, say (a) or (d) and work it in by 
tramping, pounding or rolling, wringing and rub- 
bing with the hands. Let it stand twelve to 
twenty-four hours and if soft enough, clean with 
sawdust, beat free of the dust and with a fur 
comb work out any tangles that may remain. 
Some claim that immersion in tanning liquids 
injures the fur, and undoubtedly the alum mix- 
tures are apt to make it dull and harsh. 

In case an application is made to the flesh 
side only of a skin it had best be washed or 
scoured on that side with water and soap, or soda 
in case acid has been used, before drying and 
stretching. Sawdust may be sufficient for clean- 
ing the fur of such a skin in some cases, but for a 
badly scented skunk it will be entirely inade- 
quate. The scent of furbearing animals being 
of an oily nature is soluble in benzine or gasoline, 
though not in water, so washing in either of the 
former liquids will remove it from furs. 

The beginner should experiment on some of 
the smaller and at the same time less delicate 
skins of little value. A wild cat, or failing it one 
of the domestic variety, furnished a good skin 
for practice. It is not so difficult to dress one 
with snow white leather as soft as velvet. The 



128 HOME MANUFACTURE OF FURS 

fur of all the cat kind is prone to knot and tangle 
if not thoroughly cleaned, especially when it is 
long and silky like the lynx. 

A raccoon skin may be used for a first at- 
tempt but is a little more diflflcult as it is apt to 
be more greasy, and the back of the neck at least 
will require a liberal thinning down. 

Skins up to the fox in size are dressed either 
open or cased, though most of the small skins 
remain cased until they get into the cutter's 
hands. 

A small beam is a necessity for working 
these and parts of larger skins. A piece of wood 
about 2x3 inches and three feet long may be 
tapered to a blunt point at one end, half rounded 
and bolted to the top of work bench or table for 
this purpose. All cased skins must be turned 
from time to time in order to work on both the 
leather and fur sides. A contrivance somewhat 
resembling a small beam with a clamp to hold 
the head of the skin will facilitate this in the case 
of minks, weasels and similar sizes. 

The heads, tails and paws if preserved with 
these small skins need some attention, as they 
are all frequently made into trimming for fur 
sets, hats, etc. A device to answer the purpose 
of the stake knife in breaking up and softening 
small stock may be improvised by fastening a 
piece of steel in the jaws of a vise and drawing 



SMALL OR LIGHT FURS 129 

the skins over the edge of it. A piece of saw 
blade 3x5 inches or so witli the upper corners 
talvcn off and ground square on the edge is about 
riglit for tlijs. 

Skins of no great value such as rabbit, squir- 
rel or mole are sometimes brushed on the flesh 
side with a paste of soap and oatmeal or flour, 
scraping it off and oiling and rubbing afterward. 



CHAPTER XIV. 

HEAVY FURS. 

THE skins of bears, tigers, leopards as well 
as horse and cattle liides to be made up 
in robes, rugs, and coats may be called 
heavy furs, and will require considerable more 
labor in their preparation than those of the smal- 
ler animals. This is principally in the thinning 
down necessary to secure a proper degree of flex- 
ibility, as their treatment otherwise should be 
about the same. 

These should be well reduced in thickness 
with the knife before putting in to tan to secure 
a rapid penetration by the liquor. Elk and 
moose wanted with the hair on are dressed in the 
same manner, and unless of very young animals 
will need to be thinned over the entire surface. 

Special care should be taken not to mutilate 
the heads and paws of large fur skins which can 
be mounted as rugs. It is better to leave the final 
thinning of these parts to be done when they are 
mounted. In the case of bears, wolves and simi- 
lar skins to be made into robes or garments the 
heads may be trimmed off before dressing, as it 
is not possible to make use of them or the paws 

130 



HEAVY FURS 



131 



in such work. Tliey may be used to repair where 
such parts are wanted to be mounted for hanging 
on the Avail, as such decorations are quite at- 
tractive. 




SKIVING BEAVER SKINS 

All Except Very Thin Skins Should be Reduced in Thickness with 
Curriers' or Skiving Knives. 



When skins are tanned in any numbers very 
little waste is allowed. The fat and grease re- 
moved from raw skins is saved and rendered or 
sold, and the leather tanneries sell the cattle hair 
for plasterers' use, the spent bark for packing 
and fleshings and scraps for fertilizer. 



132 HOME MANUFACTURE OF FURS 

It goes without saying tliat much more time 
is required for tanning ingredients to penetrate 
heavy skins; from three da^^s to a week is about 
the usual limit. There is very little profit for the 
hand workman in the dressing alone of this class 
of skins, and the work is hard and dirty. 

Cattle hides for robes or coats should be 
selected for a heavy coat of hair and be what are 
termed ''spready/' that is, of comparatively large 
area for the weight. Thick heavy skins from old 
animals are usually more valuable for leather 
making. 

Polar bear skins are not to my knowledge 
used for any purpose but floor rugs except by 
the Eskimo, but they require a struggle to free 
them from grease. If this is not thoroughly done 
the white fur will turn a fine yellow and the skin 
itself may drop to pieces if it was allowed to 
stand in the grease too long before dressing. 

One of the largest polar bear rugs I ever saw 
disintegrated in this way after it had been 
mounted a few years, and although it was worth 
several hundred dollars all attempts to repair it 
were useless. The hide was so crisp and tender 
it simply would not hold together. A sharp 
needle would push a piece out of it before it 
would penetrate. 

Comparatively speaking, polar bear skins 
are worth less now than several centuries ago, 



HEAVY FURS 133 

being estimated then as a trophy of the highest 
bravery. Now the use of fire arms of precision 
has made it possible for almost any Arctic trav- 
eler to secure them, but the}^ are still quite ex- 
pensive. 

Considerable gasoline is required to degrease 
such skins on account of their size and the heaA^y 
coat of fur. On account of the extra expense and 
labor involved the dressing charges are rather 
higher than for other skins of similar size. 

We once received four irregular pieces of 
polar bear skin to be dressed, and on questioning 
the owner as to such peculiar modes of skinning, 
he informed us that he had purchased the pieces 
of four natives on the shores of Hudson's Bay. 
The party of four hunters had killed the bear and 
divided the carcass, skin and all among them. 
He had arrived before they separated or used any 
of the skin, and purchased it from the several 
owners. It turned out a very fair skin, and the 
weird design of seams made in fastening it to- 
gether was hidden by the lining on one side and 
by the heavy w^hite fur on the other. 

Very few skins of the American Bison or 
buffalo will fall into the robe dresser's hands at 
the present time, though once so numerous. Ef- 
forts have been made to partially domesticate 
them, but with indifferent success. They seem 
essentially a creature of the wilds, unsuited even 



134 HOME MANUFACTURE OF FURS 

for generous enclosed ranges. On account of the 
woolly coat and the grease used by the Indian 
dressers, they were an especial prey of the moth, 
and with all civilized appliances would prove 
difficult to clean properly. A few skins of the 
muskox are handled by the trade each year, but 
these never numerous seem growing scarcer too. 
They are used for robes and have even longer hair 
than the buffalo. Treatment similar to that for 
cattle hides will fur dress either bison or musk 
ox. 



CHAPTER XV. 

DEER SKINS AND BUCKSKIN. 

SOME species of deer being common to almost 
every part of America the native inhabi- 
tants made universal use of its flesh and 
skin as food and clothing. The early white set- 
tlers took readily to buckskin as a substitute for 
their coarse hand made or high priced imported 
cloth. In the making of men's garments for 
rough wear it held much the same place as the 
cotton ducks and drillings of today, which were 
not then manufactured. 

By adopting the Indian mode of dressing, it 
could be made ready for use in a very short time, 
at no expense whatever but the labor and with 
but the rudest tools. Except in the extreme 
North it is but little used for clothing at the pres- 
ent time, but the demand for it chiefly as glove 
material is practically unlimited. Deer skins are 
frequently dressed with the hair on for use as 
rugs or robes, and in the far north many natives 
and some whites use them as clothing or bedding 
to repel the intense cold. 

The hair of the deer family has a hollow 
structure more or less like that of a bird's quill, 
and in the case of the reindeer or caribou at least, 

135 



136 HOME MANUFACTURE OF FURS 

these are partitioned off into numerous cells all 
filled with air. This peculiar structure makes 
a heavy coat of deer hair a good protection 
against cold and wet. The hair of the common 
deer is apt to be rather brittle, breaking off con- 
tinually when in use. The shorter haired skins 
give less trouble in this respect. 

The does and fawns furnish skins that dress 
very soft with little thinning, and are treated in 
about the same manner as the small fur animals. 
Buck deer skins are much heavier and need ex- 
tensive paring to make them flexible, and after 
rinsing out the tan liquor and partly drying 
should be given at least two coats of some oil 
dressing. One pint of neatsfoot oil beaten up 
with a half pint of leached lye and applied with 
a brush is good to soften deer skins and light furs 
as well. 

In the chapter on Indian Skin Dressing, 
buckskin making in its simplest form is described 
and the white man's style is but little different. 
Soap is commonly substituted for brain dressing 
and the smoking is done in a smokehouse, or 
lacking that a box or barrel. The skins are first 
unhaired, and this may be accomplished in sev- 
eral ways, the simplest of which is to soak in 
clear water till the hair slips. A tub of luke- 
warm water kept in a warm room will help this 
along. 



DEER SKINS AND BUCKSKIN 137 

If treated with ashes and lime the skin 
should be well washed or soaked in bran water 
to kill the lime. Some writers say that deer 
skins may be grained immediately on removing 
from the animal without soaking but I have 
never seen it done. Frequently it Avould be im- 
possible. 

When the hair and "grain" or epidermis can 
be readily scraped off, put the skin on the beam 
hair down and flesh it well, then turn it over and 
scrape off all hair and epidermis. 

A steel tool Avith a square edge is best for 
this. A skate blade will do it nicely. If you pre- 
fer, the graining may be done before the fleshing ; 
it is immaterial which is first. 

Next dissolve a half bar of laundry soap in 
two gallons of w^arm water. While still warm 
put the skin in and work the suds well into it. 
Let it stand about twenty-four hours, take it out, 
wring and pull it dry. Give it a coat of oil dress- 
ing of some kind, butter or grease will do, warm 
the water, add another half bar of soap and put 
in again. After twenty-four hours more take it 
out and pull and stretch as it dries. A very 
thick skin may require a third soaking in the 
warm soap suds, but twice should answer for 
does and young bucks. 

When dr}^ and soft, skins should be smoked 
with a punky or dozy hardAAOod fire; this should 



138 HOME MANUFACTURE OF FURS 

give tliem a nice yellow tinge, much better than 
can be done rubbing ochre into the buckskin, as 
is sometimes done. 

If you wish to try buckskin dressing and 
have no deerskin to experiment on, calf, sheep 
or goat skins may receive the same treatment. 
The humble woodchuck can be turned into a 
leather suitable for mittens, moccasins and other 
odds and ends. Buckskin vests are frequently 
called for as they keep the wearers warm in cold 
weather, repelling the wind from the vital parts 
of the body. For such purposes light buckskins 
like that from yearling deer is most suitable and 
should be softened by the application of more 
elbow than other grease. Heavy skins for moc- 
casins should have a coat of oil or dressing ap- 
plied to each side. 

INDIAN MODE OF MAKING 
BUCKSKIN. 

Take the skin and immerse it in warm water, 
say two ten-quart pails full, throw in several 
handsfuls of wood ashes and stir well. Immerse 
the skin in this mixture until the hair slips off 
easy, then remove to your fleshing beam as before 
mentioned, and flesh it clean. Turn it over and 
scrape off the hair, using the draw knife with 
the handles bent straight by the blacksmith, as 



DEER SKINS AND BUCKSKIN 139 

mentioned for sheep skins. After tlie hair is 
removed, there is left a thin sliin or cuticle, 
brown in color. Now wash the skin in clean 
warm water and pass it through a wringer, such 
as is used for wringing clothes. Now take the 
brains of the animal, dry them slowly, taking 
care not to burn or cook them, when dry put 
them in a cloth and boil them until they are soft. 
Cool down the liquor until blood warm, then add 
water enough to immerse the skin in, and soak it 
until perfectly soft; i)ass it through the wringer 
and work it as described for the sheep pelt, until 
soft and dry. If you have not got the deerhead 
so you can procure the brains, then use lard in 
place of the brains and soak in this liquor six 
hours, then rub dry and soft, and you will have 
a good piece of buckskin. Smoke the skin by 
the white man's method. 

THE WHITE MAN'S MODE OF MAKING 

BUCKSKIN. 

Put the skin in wood ashes or lime water 
that is about as thick as milk or thicker, leave 
it there until the hair slips off easy, then put it 
on the fleshing beam and flesh clean, i. e., scrape 
off all meat and fat, after the hair is off, scrape 
the brown skin off also, that that lies just under 
the hair, (a thin cuticle skin), it is sometimes 



140 HOME MANUFACTURE OF FURS 

called the grain. After this is well done, grease 
the flesh side with bacon grease or butter, which 
ever you have at hand; then hang for a day or 
tw^o days for that matter. Now take some of the 
good old home-made soft soap and make a good 
suds, immerse the skin and leave it until you can 
squeeze water through it with ease. Usually it 
takes from four to ten days, depending on the 
thickness of the skin. Keep in a warm place like 
a tent, while doing this. When water passes 
through the skin by squeezing easily, take it out, 
rinse in clean soft water, pass it through a 
wringer a few times, and work until dry. If you 
have no home-made soap at hand to do this with, 
use common bar soap. 

Now this is fine buckskin, but w^lien it is 
wet, it dries out hard. To i3revent this we (and 
the Indians also) smoke it. There are many 
wa^'S to do this, but probably as simple a way as 
any is to cut about a dozen switches or hard 
wood about six feet long, sharpen the butts and 
stick them in the ground in a circle three or four 
feet in diameter, gather the tops together and tie 
them, this forming a wickiup or tepee, or as some 
call it, an Indian wigwam. Spread the skin on 
this as for a covering, taking care to cover any 
holes that are left with some other material, like 
old cloth or canvas, if the skin does not suffice 
(and usually it does not). Now with some dry 



DEER SKINS AND BUCKSKIN 141 

hardwood chips or punk (but use hardwood in 
any case) build a smudge inside your tepee and 
the smaller and cooler it is the better. The first 
few hours have only smoke enough to be visible 
to the eye, make as little heat as possible, keep in 
mind it is a cool smoke you want and not heat. 
Keep your smudge going until your skin is a light 
browm, or just a little darker than cream color, 
and you will have a nice piece of ^^buckskin.'' 
Sometimes it is advisable to turn the skin to get 
an even color ; good buckskin makes some handy 
articles, such as mitts, gloves, moccasins, shirts, 
etc. Moccasins are fine to wear around the house, 
also for bed slippers and many other uses. 

When a boy on the farm we used to tan 
squirrel skins and woodchuck skins by immersing 
them in water and wood ashes until the hair 
slipped off. Then scrape off the grain and im- 
merse in the soft soap barrel for several days, 
afterwards taking them out, then washing, pull- 
ing and drying them. 

We used this leather for facing for our mitts 
and other uses, and it was all right. The soft 
soap should be medium strong for this tan. 

Eel skins can be tanned the same way as the 
chuck skins, only of course no fleshing has to be 
done. The skins make the strongest strings or 
thongs in existence. 



142 HOME MANUFACTURE OF FURS 

Much "buckskin" nowadays comes mostly 
from a sheep's back. I will give an infallible rule 
by which to tell genuine "buckskin'' from a deer's 
back. After the skin is tanned by "any old pro- 
cess," on the flesh side you will observe little 
veins or channels where they once were. They 
are spread like the veins on the back of the hands, 
only smaller ; where these are found on a hide or 
skin, you may rest assured it is "buckskin'' off a 
deer's back. 



CHAPTER XVI. 

SHEEP AND GOAT SKINS. 

SUCH skins as these should be selected with 
care and with regard to the purpose for 
which they are to be used. Sheep make 
good coat collars and linings and may also be 
worked up into robes and sleeping bags. Many 
goat skins are handled by the trade, but the bulk 
of these are imported. 

Those from North China are received dressed 
and being of heavy fur, are made up both dyed 
and natural in coats, capes and robes. Many 
thousand goat skins are received from Mexico 
and the Central American countries, but these 
are chiefly for leather purposes. The Angora 
goat furnishes a skin which may well be classi- 
fied as fur. In fact it is often put on the market 
as "Iceland Fox" or "Thibet Fur'' and is used 
for ladies' muffs, collarettes and trimmings. The 
skins of sheep and goats are seldom very thick 
and for this reason usually dress readily and 
soften with the use of little or no oil or grease. 

To thoroughly clean the wool or fur is prob- 
ably the most difficult part of the job, but the 
gasoline washing will accomplish this perfectly. 

143 



144 HOME MANUFACTURE OF FURS 

Eepeated washings in strong soap suds and rins- 
ing with clear water will also effect the same 
purpose, but not so quickly and completely. 
Whatever form of cleaning is employed it should 
be after tawing or steeping with some of the 
usual preparations. 

For cleaning one sheep skin, dissolve a pound 
of soap in two quarts of boiling water and mix 
half of this in a tub with a gallon of cold water. 
Wash the skin in this until it will extract no 
more dirt, then use the other quart diluted in the 
same way to remove the rest of the dirt. Rinse 
thoroughly in water slightly warmed. A little 
laundry blue in the last rinse water will help 
whiten the avooI. Wringing thoroughly after 
each wash or scouring and rinsing, especially if 
a roller w^ringer is used will help the cleaning. 

It should be w^ell shaken out from time to 
time as the drying proceeds and broken up and 
stretched as has been directed for other skins. 
Not being very thick but Jittle skiving will be 
necessary. 

If the gasoline bath is used it should be after 
the tawing solution has been rinsed out of the 
wool, and by putting in drum or tray with the 
hot meal it will be cleaned in short order. The 
gasoline will remove the objectionable mutton or 
goat odor from skins. 

Angora skins with fleece tangled or matted 



SHEEP AND GOAT SKINS 145 

with burrs and chaff are often useless as furs. 
A short or medium length of fleece is to be pre- 
ferred in both sheep and angora skins. A very 
heavy fleece A^'ith a thin skin is not desirable. 
Sheep skins with long fleece may be dressed and 
made up as wool dusters at a profit sometimes. 
In order to make them attractive for this purpose 
and also as rugs they may be dyed a variety of 
bright colors. 

For use as white furs they will need bleach- 
ing if after cleaning they still have a yellow 
tinge. To accomplish this procure or make a box, 
large enough so a sheep skin may be spread to 
full extent on one side of it. It will accommo- 
date from two to five skins, according to shape. 
On the inside tack the skins, flesh side next to 
the wood so they will not hang down in the mid- 
dle or elsewhere. Now put a sulphur candle in 
the middle of the bottom of the box, light and 
close the lid. If the candles are not to be had 
put a half pound of sulphur in a tin plate and 
drop some hot coals or red hot metal on it to 
light it. Any holes or cracks in the box should 
be calked up and the lid made to fit tight before 
using, but some fumes will escape anyway, so 
the job had best be done out of doors. In six or 
eight hours the fumes will have bleached the wool 
and the skins may be hung in the open air to 
free them from the smell. 



146 



HOME MANUFACTURE OF FURS 



When dressing sheep without the wool for 
leather or "imitation'' buckskin, if the wool is 
of a good length it can be saved and sold. Some- 
times it is sheared off and the skin then soaked 
in the lime and ashes solution, but more gener- 
ally the skin is soaked in such a way as not to 
foul the wool, which is then pulled. To do this 
the skins are first wet and then painted on the 
flesh sides with a batter of lime, ashes and water. 
Placed flesh sides together, they are piled and 
left several days in a warm room until the wool 
pulls readily. After pulling the skins are to be 
STained and treated about as buckskin. Shear- 
lings and skins from which the wool has been cut 
are shown no especial consideration but soaked 
and grained as usual. 

As wool is of a different 
nature from fur it is not es- 
pecially diflflcult to dye, and 
the ordinary package dyes for 
wool will do good work on 
sheepskins. For carriage and 
auto robes sheepskins are 
trimmed square and if it is 
wished to make a few dusters, 
cut a long fleeced skin into 
,^^^r^^^Tc^^^ trians^ular pieces like the cut. 

WOOL DUSTER "~ /. ■ i . 

Sew the sides of this pattern 
together including the rounded end, and stuff 




SHEEP AND GOAT SKINS 147 

about one-half the length with wool combings 
or rags to shape the cluster and prevent the han- 
dle marring the furniture. The handles may be 
made for a few cents each on a lathe of soft wood 
and any design to suit. They may be stained or 
given a coat or two of enamel paint and when 
inserted in the duster are held by tacking se- 
curely. A strip of colored leather tacked around 
will conceal the fastening and give it a finish. 
Comb the wool out nicely and you will have a 
duster suitable to use on the finest furniture or 
pianos. 

A practical man gives the following sugges- 
tions for 

TANNING SHEEPSKINS. 

Many times one has a nice sheep pelt which 
one would like to convert into a rug; or several 
which he would like to do likewise with. A robe, 
or mittens, for mind you a lamb skin makes good 
mits. What we want is good results at low cost. 

Like all tanning there are plenty of methods. 
For tanning sheep skin, the following I like best 
of all. First trim off all ragged pieces, then soak 
in cold tvater until the skin is soft, or until you 
feel no hard spots in it. If the skin is soft and a 
hard spot remains, then soak the hard spot ; usu- 
ally twenty-four hours is about right for the av- 



148 HOME MANUFACTURE OF FURS 

erage skin. Kemove the hide, place over a half 
round block, peeled slab or log, flesh side up, and 
with an old draw knife scrape off all flesh and 
fat. Now mix with your soft soap. A strong 
soap suds as warm as you can bear your hand in, 
and wash the skin clean, wool and all. A wash- 
board will help matters. Also pick out all burs, 
etc., and make the skin nice and clean. Now you 
are ready for the tanning. 

While the skins are damp, mix together one 
pound pulverized alum, half a pound saltpetre 
and twice the bulk of the whole mess of bran. 
Spread this evenly over the skins one-fourth inch 
thick; now fold the skin, wool side out, and let 
lie in a cool place several days, the longer the 
better, so long as the place is cool; say a week. 
Now scrape off the mixture, dry out the skins 
and work until soft. Now a word about working 
soft : The easiest way, if the skin is large enough, 
is to take a smooth sharp edge board, nail it to 
a beam or tree, supporting the outside end with 
an upright, and Avith a person holding each end 
draw bark and forth across the edge of the board 
until the skin is dry and soft. Let the skin dry a 
while then rub a while. If this is not carried 
out, your skin will look like an old battered kero- 
sene can. If your skin does not come out to suit 
you, it can always be tanned over again by this 
process. 



SHEEP AND GOAT SKINS 149 

With a heavy leathered skin, I have known 
the process to begin by pounding the skin with 
a clnb. I linow of a moose hide that was broken 
this way, and by constant use was as soft as silk. 
In the case of fur skins, rub them in your hands, 
and a dry washboard will help. I forgot to add 
that after washing the skin in the soap suds, 
rinse in warm soft water, and if the skin is small 
enough, run it through a wringer. 

The treatment for goat skins is practically 
the same as for sheep in dressing and cleaning. 
The pelts (except Angoras) being more on the 
order of hair than wool, fur dying methods 
should be used to color them. 



CHAPTER XVII. 

MISCELLANEOUS SKINS^ GATOE^ SNAKE^ BIRDS^ ETC. 



I 



N the preparation of alligator hides they are 
first soaked from two to six days, according 
to condition and size, tlie larger ones longest. 
After sufficient soaking they are removed to a 
lime solution, weaker than that used for unhair- 
ing, in which they remain from eight to fifteen 
da^^s, depending on size and temperature. Dur- 
ing this time the hides are daily or frequently 
removed to a stronger solution of lime. From 
the lime soak they go to the beam for fleshing and 
then to the bran drench or ''bate" to remove the 
lime from the skin. 

This bate is prepared by pouring hot water 
upon bran and the skins kept in this liquid at 
about seventy degrees, when fermentation soon 
begins. In this the skins are moved about fre- 
quently for a day or more, then well rinsed in 
clear water and put to tan in a Aveak extract of 
oak bark, sumac or gambia. This is strengthened 
every few days for perhaps three weeks when 
the hides are removed and partially dried so they 
may be shaved again on the flesh side to reduce 
the thickness still further. They are then returned 
to the tan liquor for several days longer, 
strengthening the liquid from time to time. The 

150 



MISCELLANEOUS SKINS 



151 



tanning finished, they are scoured or washed 
well, stretched and nailed on boards or frames 
and dried. 

If intended for shoes the leather is now well 
filled with a tallow and oil dressing which is 
omitted otherwise, and the hides staked to make 
them soft and pliable. This is the commercial 
tanning and dressing of alligator skins, and it 
produces a yellowish brown leather which is also 
dyed black and various colors for ornamental 
use. 

The different tawing solutions will preserve 
alligator skins, but will not produce the fine 
leather that solutions of tannic acid do, and of 
course it is out of the question to oil dress them 
as in the case of buckskin. 

Sharks, rays and all the cartilaginous fishes 
possess skins that are very durable. Formerly 

many of these 
skins were used 
for polishing and 
smoothing wood, 
ivory, etc., but 
(the great im- 
p r o V ements in 
preparing sand- 
papers and com- 
& positions of em- 
SKIN OF MOTTLED SHARK cry have super- 




152 HOME MANUP^'^CTURE OF FURS 

seded them for such purposes. Some parts of 
these skins are very rough and hard, so durable 
as to outwear many sheets of sandpaper of the 
same size. Unlike the skins of mammals they 
seem to be non-porous and so proof against the 
absorption of Avater. 

In preparation for use by cabinet-makers 
shark skins are merely cleaned by soaking and 
fleshing and not tanned at all. 

To prepare them as leather the skins may be 
soaked, limed, bran drenched, scoured, fleshed 
and finally soaked in an alum solution (No. 1 
Alum Tawing Solution) for two or three days, 
then removed and dried. Such skins are used 
principally to cover jewel boxes, cardcases and 
especially sword grips, for which its rough sur- 
face particularly fits it. But few such skins are 
prepared in this country, though in Europe and 
Asia many are used. 

Fish skins are chiefiy used for ornamental 
purposes such as covering small cases, boxes, 
picture frames, etc., but have been made into 
serviceable shoes and gloves. The natives of 
Alaska and Siberia preserve skins of salmon, cod 
and other fish for use as garments and bags. 
They remove the scales, dry the skins and work 
them soft by scraping. The finished product re- 
sembling kid in appearance and softness, is fre- 
quently dyed red, yellow, blue or brown and sewn 



MISCELLANEOUS SKINS 



153 




WALRUS LEATHER 



together with a thread also of fish skin. Many of 
these garments of ornate appearance are in the 
museums of this country. 

W a 1 rus hides 
are so excessively 
thick and heavy 
that it is out of 
the question to 
work them ex- 
(Cept in regular 
tanneries. The 
largest sides 
weigh 180 to 200 
pounds each and are 1% to 2 inches thick. They 
are used almost altogether for metal polishing or 
buffing wheels and sell for from 30 cents to |1.25 
per pound by the side for that purpose. 

Heavy sea lion 
hides can be used 
in the same way ; 
the light ones are 
prepared like 
seal leather. All 
the fur seals and 
some of the hair 
seal skins are 
dressed about as 
other fur skins 
are. The greatest change in their appearance 
being due to the dyeing process. 




SEA-LION LEATHER 



154 



HOME MANUFACTURE OF FURS 




The hair seal leather on account of its at- 
tractive grain is in great demand for pocket 
books, bags and similar uses. Much of it is used 
for shoe uppers. In tanning the process is very 

much the same 
as for alligator 
leather after the 
unhairing. Dye- 
ing and in some 
cases an enamel 
or ''patent'' fin- 
ish is given it. 
The hair seal 
skins dressed in 
the fur are most- 
ly of very young animals, less than fifteen days 
old, known as ''wool seals" and forming but a 
small percentage of the 650,000 skins constitut- 
ing the approximate annual catch in the North 
Atlantic around Newfoundland. The rest are 
manufactured into leather. 

Skins of the Atlantic porpoise are treated 
much the same as cow hides in making leather, 
it being necessary to reduce their thickness by 
splitting. It makes remarkably "easy" shoes 
owing to its tractibility or stretching qualities, 
also outlasting several pairs of calf skin shoes. 
The price of the green "sides" is about |2.00 
each and when tanned |10 or |12. 



SEAL LEATHER 



MISCELLANEOUS SKINS 



155 



The skin of the beluga or white whale known 
as "porpoise" leather is much stronger and more 
durable than bona fide porpoise, and on account 
of its size is particularly adapted to making ma- 
chine belts. A single skin has furnished a con- 
tinuous piece eighteen inches wide and sixty feet 
long. 




SKIN OF WATER SNAKE 



The skins of frogs and toads possess a deli- 
cate grain but are little used in America. A few 
factories in France pay especial attention to 
tanning raw skins from Africa, Brazil and other 
tropical countries. 



156 HOME MANUFACTURE OF FURS 

Snake skins are sometimes made into leather 
for bags, cardcases and such small articles, but 
the largest demand is probably for dressing and 
manufacturing souvenirs and trophies. They are 
rather difficult and uncertain in working, vary- 
ing in thickness and substance, according to the 
length of time since the last shedding or slough- 
ing of the skin. This is popularly supposed to 
take place once each year, but really it depends 
on how well the snake is living. Specimens well 
fed and cared for at Zoological Gardens have been 
known to shed several times in one season. So 
sometimes the skin of a very large and old snake 
is very thin and papery, being but a few days or 
hours old perhaps. They should be heavily salt- 
ed or packed in salt as advised for alligator 
hides, after skinning. We have had very fair 
results in using the oxalic pickle for snake skins, 
but all the smaller ones must be handled care- 
fully. 

As in the case of fish skins the scales should 
be scraped off, as it is impossible to make a flex- 
ible leather and retain them. After tanning and 
softening them, the scale side is polished with 
smooth but not hot irons and sometimes rubbed 
with a weak solution of gum arable or white 
shellac, say 1% ounces gum to a pint of water 
or the same amount of shellac in a pint of alco- 
hol. The skins of rattlers, water and other small 



MISCELLANEOUS SKINS 



157 



snakes are frequently wanted made into belts, 
hat bands, and other useful (?) and ornamental 
articles by vacationists. 

For these purposes they should be mounted 
or cemented on a backing of more durable lea- 




LETTER BOX, MOUNTED WITH SHARK SKIN, GARFISH 
SKIN, AND MOTHER-OF-PEARL 



ther. A mode of tanning used in France but 
which we have never tested is as follows : Soak 
at least ten days in water containing enough sul- 
phate of zinc to prevent putrifaction. Flesh, 
scrape, wash and put in 



158 HOME MANUFACrURE OF FURS 

BATH NO. 1. 

100 parts Water 

10 parts Boracic Acid 

2y2 parts Tartaric Acid 

1 part Borax 

Precipitated Alumina enough for a satur- 
ated solution, or as mucli as tlie liquid will dis- 
solve. After twenty-four hours transfer to 

BATH NO. 2 

100 parts Water 

5 parts Gl^^cerine 

2% parts . . Benzoate of Aluminum 
21/2 parts Prosphate of Zinc 

2 parts Alcohol 

Leave in this twenty-four hours then to No. 

1, continue this program for five or six days until 
tanning is completed, then dry out, stake lightly 
and finish. 

Bird skins are usuallj^ cleaned of flesh and 
fat after dampening the skin only and a preser- 
vative applied as a paste or powder. When this 
has had time to act the entire skin, feathers and 
all, is given a gasoline bath and dried out with 
sawdust or in the case of white feathers, meal, 
farina flour or even gypsum. 

Swan or duck skins wanted in the down 
should have the stiff feathers plucked out before 



MISCELLANEOUS SKINS 



159 



the tanning. This plucking must be done care- 
fuly by hand. To free from rust or gypsum, beat 
gingerly and hold in a blast of compressed air 
such as is used to inflate tires. 













SKIN OF BEAVER TAIL AND JEWEL BOX COVERED 
THEREWITH 



CHAPTER XVIII. 

FUR DYEING — USES AND PRINCIPLES. 

THE dyeing of fur skins is an ancient art, 
but the present generation has brought it 
to such a state of perfection that, in 
many cases no one but an expert can tell when 
skins have been touched to deepen or change their 
color. 

In this as in the dressing, different countries 
seem to have their specialties. The English have 
long been successful in seal dyeing, the Germans 
specialize in coloring black, the French use most- 
ly vegetable dyes which are not so permanent, 
perhaps, but do not reduce the quality of the 
skins so much. The Chinaman with all his in- 
genuity is usually a poor dyer of furs. 

Notwithstanding the antiquity of the art of 
fur dyeing, its principal development, in America 
and Europe at least, has been within the last fifty 
years. Skilled and conscientious chemists have 
by experiment succeeded in greatly improving 
the permanency of the dyes and lessening their 
injurious effect on skins. The composition of the 
newest dyes and the methods of using them are 
seldom available. 

160 



FUR DYEING — USES AND PRINCIPLES 161 

The number of successful fur dyers is com- 
paratively small, and as their prosperity depends 
to a considerable extent on lack of competition 
they are not publishing what is frequently the 
result of long and costly experiments. 

Confronted with the condition of a decreas- 
ing supply and an increasing demand, the fur 
trade has sought to prevent high prices, by popu- 
larizing the use of furs which were formerly con- 
sidered of little value. A large part of this work 
devolves on the dressers and dyers who can ren- 
der stiff pelts more supple and change the color of 
the fur to resemble that of others animals. When 
the dressers and dyers produced a clipped and 
dyed muskrat skin that resembled sealskin al- 
most perfectly it was found that it would not sell 
under its real name, because it was a common 
fur, used largely by the poorer classes. Conse- 
quently a name was invented for it and this popu- 
lar fur is now sold as ^'Hudson Bay seal." The 
fur of the coney or rabbit, a very cheap and com- 
mon animal in France, is the raw material for 
producing "electric sealskin," "clipped seal," and 
"Baltic seal." Raccoon, when first introduced, 
was cheap and in little demand, but when given 
the name "Alaska bear" and "silver bear" it im- 
mediately came into favor. Skunk, which is an 
excellent natural black fur, though beautiful and 
durable, could not be sold as skunk, but as "black 




RED, CROSS, SILVER FOX SKINS 

Red on left, value few dollars ; middle is a Cross worth three times 
as much as the Red ; last, or skin on right. Silver, worth ten times 
as much as the Cross and thirty times as much as the Red. This 
explains why Skins are Dyed and Blended. (Photo from "Fur Buyer*' 
Guide," which explains value of these skins.) 

162 



FUR DYEING — USES AND PRINCIPLES 163 

marten'' and ''Alaska sable" it is in high favor 
and likely to remain in the class of medium and 
high priced furs. 

Now that the prejudice against muskrat, 
skunk, and other cheap furs has been overcome 
they can be sold under their real names. Musk- 
rat furs in the natural color are now sold as such 
at about the same figures as the dyed product. 
The pressure of increasing demand has brought 
into common use the fur of animals with harsh, 
brittle hair w^hich are treated and sold under 
names which mislead the general public. 

The pelts of animals such as the goat, lamb, 
dog, marmot, pony, opossum, raccoon, jackal, 
monkey, otter and others from the warmer zones 
of America, Asia and Africa are noAV worked up 
by dressers and dyers into quite respectable ap- 
pearing furs. They are much inferior to furs 
from colder climates, however, lacking the close 
underfur, the long and silky overhair and the 
suppleness of leather. The dyeing also lessens 
their durability. 

As much as thirty years ago the misnaming 
of furs w^as under the ban of the law in England 
and if necessary then, how much more so at the 
present time w^hen two hares from the same litter 
may be sold at the same counter as "white fox" 
and "black lynx." The following is a list of some 
of the most common misdescriptions : 



164 HOME MANUFACTURE OF FURS 

VARIETY SOLD FOR 

American Sable Russian Sable 

Fitch, dyed Sable 

Goat, dyed Bear 

Hare, dyed Lynx or Fox 

Kid Lamb or Broadtail 

Marmot, dyed Mink, Sable 

Mink, dyed Sable 

Muskrat, dyed Mink or Sable 

Muskrat, dyed and plucked. 

Seal, Hudson Bay Seal, Red River Seal 
Nutria, plucked and dyed. 

Seal, Hudson Bay Seal, Red River Seal 

Nutria, plucked natural Beaver, Otter 

Opossum, dyed Skunk 

Opossum,slieared and dyed Beaver 

Otter, dyed and plucked Seal 

Rabbit, dyed French Sable 

Rabbit, sheared and dyed, 

Seal, Electric Seal, Hudson Bay Seal, etc. 

Rabbit, white Ermine 

Rabbit, white, dyed Chinchilla 

Wallaby, dyed Skunk 

White Hare Fox 

Angora Iceland Fox 

Fox, Sables, White Hairs inserted. Natural Furs 



FUR DYEING — USES AND PRINCIPLES 165 

The London Chamber of Commerce has pub- 
lished the following list of what it sanctions as 
permissible descriptions: 

NAME OF FUR PERMISSIBLE DESCRIPTION 

American Sable Canadian or Real Sable 

Fitch, dyed Sable Fitch 

Goat, dyed Bear Goat 

Hare, dyed Sable Hare or Fox Hare 

Kids Karakule Kids 

Marmot, dyed. .Sable Marmot, Mink Marmot, or 

Skunk Marmot 

Mink, dyed Sable Mink 

Muskrat, plucked and dyed Seal Muskrat 

Nutria, plucked and dyed Seal Nutria 

Nutria, plucked, natural, 

Beaver Nutria, or Otter Nutria 
Opossum, sheared and dyed . . . Beaver Opossum 

Opossum, dyed Skunk Opossum 

Otter, plucked and dyed Seal Otter 

Rabbit, dyed Sable Coney 

Rabbit, sheared and dyed, 

Seal Coney or Muskrat Coney 

Rabbit, white Mock Ermine 

Rabbit, w^hite, dyed Chinchilla Coney 

Wallaby, dyed Skunk Wallaby 

White Hare Imitation Fox 

Foxes, Sable, white Hairs inserted. 

Pointed Fox or Sable 



166 HOME MANUFACTURE OF FURS 

Reliable furriers seldom make use of such 
misdescriptive terms, though many of the smaller 
furriers are undoubtedly ignorant of the real 
names of their stock. The greatest offenders are 
probably the cheap advertisers and sellers of 
furs in connection with other businesses. Dyeing 
has a very legitimate use in obtaining those 
shades which have been determined by taste and 
fashion to be the most desirable for any particu- 
lar species of fur. 

The matter of natural coloration determines 
to a great degree the A^alue of raw skins. In fur 
dyeing either the ends of the fur and hair may 
be tinted or the color of the entire skin may be 
changed. The first process, called blending, is 
chiefly used to make all pieces of fur used in a 
garment of the same color or to remedy minor 
defects. Some furs closely resemble choicer ones 
in every respect except color, and these are fre- 
quently dyed throughout with the proper shade 
and thus become to the casual observer almost 
indistinguishable from the genuine. 

While dyeing may be a cheap and ready pro- 
cess in the treatment of low priced furs, it be- 
comes an art when applied to choice skins. Its 
perfection consists in the exact imitation of the 
proper color and shade, with the preservation of 
the glossiness of the fur, the firmness and pliabil- 
ity of the leather, and above all the durability of 
the dye. 



FUR DYEING — USES AND PRINCIPLES 167 

The processes of fur dyeing are usually quite 
different from those in general use on textiles, 
principally on account of the deleterious effect 
of very hot liquids on tawed skins, for furs are 
with very few exceptions dyed after dressing. 

Considerable experiment will be necessary to 
secure even a moderate degree of success, and it 
should not be necessary to caution the beginners 
to confine their initial efforts to pieces of fur of 
little value. Some knowledge of blending is a 
great aid in repair work, as worn and faded furs 
may be furbished up to a respectable appearance 
for their remaining years of service. 

The leather of most skins dressed or tanned 
for furs is either white or of a light brown color, 
and to find furs with the leather colored either 
brown or black was considered prima facie evi- 
dence of dyed furs. This test is not infallible by 
any means, however, as skins with light colored 
leather may have been top dyed or blended by 
brushing dye on the end of the fur only. 

On the other hand, some natural black furs 
may have the leather only colored to prevent its 
being too conspicuous in places where the fur is 
thin or is likely to be brushed or blown apart. 
Skunk and bear are often treated so. 



CHAPTER XIX. 

DYEING MATERIAL AND APPLIANCES. 

THE dyeing of furs is, on account of the 
diversity of skins and their preparation, 
always more or less a matter for experi- 
ment in individual cases. The dyes commonly 
used for dyeing whole skins were until a com- 
paratively recent time, what are known as mor- 
dant dyes. In this process the various com- 
pounds of chrome, iron and alumina used form 
a deposit of oxide of the metal on the fibres and 
this combining with the coloring matter, forms 
together an insoluble colored body or fast dye. 

The certain color developed, thus depends 
somewhat on the mordant as well as the coloring 
matter used. The mordanting may be done either 
before or after the dyeing. Some coloring mat- 
ters Avill not dye unmordanted material, others 
such as the vegetable, fustic and logwoods, and 
some of the coaltar colors may be applied first 
and then fixed by treatment with a mordant. 

The special fur dyes producing the best re- 
sults are known as oxidation colors, called Ur- 
sols. The chief advantage in the use of these is 
the low temperatures at which they may be used, 

168 




169 



170 HOME MANUFACTURE OF FURS 

the ordinary analine and vegetable dyes being 
hardly permanent except they are used at a de- 
gree of heat damaging to the leather. Skins may 
be dyed either by immersing or dipping or by 
brushing the fur only with the proper solution. 

Probably the most useful to the amateur, the 
repairer and fur worker on a small scale, are the 
dyes ready prepared in liquid form, which are 
put up in quantities of a pint and upwards. 
These are accompanied by full directions for 
their use. 

The most used of vegetable dye stuffs for 
furs is probably logwood, either in the form of 
chips or the solid extract. It produces black 
and gray shades. Gum catechu for brown on 
sheep and goat skins especially. The fancy 
bright colors used on sheep's wool mats, etc., are 
to be had from the ready prepared dyes such as 
are used for all wool fabrics. 

There are a few utensils which should be at 
hand, especially suitable earthen jars or dishes 
for the dye baths. Some of the solutions may be 
partly mixed in advance and combined at the 
time of using. Glass or earthenware jugs, jars 
or bottles should be used for this purpose. Scales 
like those used for weighing photographic chemi- 
cals as well as larger ones, and liquid measures 
in the form of large metal and small glass gradu- 
ates will be needed for compounding dyes. A 




171 



172 HOME MANUFACTURE OF FURS 

thermometer similar to those used by the pho- 
tographer may be used to take the temperature 
of dye baths. 

A number of brushes for glazing or wetting 
the furs, others for applying dye, known as dye- 
ing and striping brushes. A pair of rubber 
gloves will be needed if the operator is particular 
as to the appearance of the hands, and in all 
cases care should be used in handling the solu- 
tions, as many of them are quite poisonous. To 
prevent bad effects on those handling the dyed 
furs they should be thoroughly rinsed and in 
some cases drummed with absorbents to remove 
any loose dye material after the coloring is com- 
pleted. 

The ''fixing" or mordant materials are var- 
ious; diluted acetic acid, alum, cream of tartar, 
copper sulj)hate, sulphate of iron, bichlorate of 
potash, and acetate of lead being among them. 

With the Ursol dyes are used peroxide of 
hydrogen and pyrogallic acid to produce the 
proper oxidation. 

The proper amount of solution for various 
skins may be arrived at approximately only. To 
dip a skin the size of an ordinary opossum will 
require about a quart, a raccoon twice that, and 
other skins in proportion to their size. In dip- 
ping skins they should be entirely submerged 



DYEING MATERIAL AND APPLIANCES 



173 



and a dish should be provided which will allow 
of their being spread out flat and even. 

All skins dipped in various coloring solu- 
tions must be again softened after drying. In 



some cases a regular re- 
tanning may be neces- 
sary. Usually a damping, 
staking and oiling of the 
leather will be sufficient, 
especially if the dye has 
been applied at a low tem- 
perature. Logwood dye 
requires considerable 
time at 100 degrees or 
over, while the Ursol dyes 
work at about 80 degrees 
F. This may be called, 
comparatively, cold dye- 
ing, and when brushed 
on, the skin proper is af- 
fected little if at all by 
the application. 

Most of the dyes manu- 
factured for coloring tex- 
tiles must be applied at a 
high temperature. In 
many cases an immersion 
at the boiling point for 
some time is necessary. This makes them in- 




STRIP OF RACCOON 
FUR 

Top Part Dyed Dark 
Brown ; Central Part Na- 
tural ; Lower Part Blended. 



174 HOME MANUFACTURE OF FURS 

applicable to the treatment of furs, as the skins 
would become partially dissolved by any such 
method. Sheep skins are sometimes dyed with 
these colors, by fastening them on boards or 
frames and allowing the wool alone to come in 
direct contact with the hot liquid. The success- 
ful dyer must be a practical chemist, at least to 
some extent, and we cannot pretend to go into 
the details of such a business in this book. 

What are given here are hints to help the fur 
worker on a small scale, the repair man, etc. To 
such purposes the simplest processes and those 
requiring the least apparatus are best adapted. 
In making and altering furs, light or worn places 
must be cut out and replaced, unless the mate- 
rials are at hand to touch up and darken them. 

Furs that are becoming faded and "springy" 
are graded down by the buyers, though just as 
warm as they ever were. They know that it will 
be necessary to have them dyed before they are 
used and cut their prices to allow for it. 

Especially is it desirable to be prepared to 
at least blend or darken the top hair when doing 
small jobs of custom work. This is on account 
of the limited number of skins you will have to 
select from. The contrast would be too much be- 
tween the lightest and darkest of a small lot, to 
look well, made up together. 



DYKJNG MATERIAL AND APPLIANCES 175 

It sounds like an easy matter to dye a goat 
so as to resemble bear, or to counterfeit skunk 
with opossum, but it is just as easy to ruin a skin 
entirely or produce a color which no furred ani- 
mal on land or sea ever had. Experiment alone 
can determine just what results may be looked 
for. Even the minerals contained in the water 
used in dyeing or tanning are liable to affect the 
results. 



CHAPTER XX. 

COLORS AND FORMULAS 

OF course a fur can be d^^ed some color 
darker than that which it naturally pos- 
sesses. A few varieties are bleached to 
obtain lighter shades, but this is done infrequent- 
ly nowadays. 

There is at present a fad for blue furs in 
imitation of the so-called blue, or more properly 
sooty fox. Light gray furs and white ones blem- 
ished by a yellowish cast are used for this pur- 
pose. Almost all other colors used are some 
shades of brown or black. These added to the 
natural coloring of the furs produce a bewilder- 
ing variety. 

In the case of the fur seal, for instance, 
fashion has decided that the color shall be 
changed to a lustrous blackish-brown, resembling 
no original color whatever, in the animal king- 
dom. 

The most desirable shades of brown are the 
dark broAvn, the reddish and golden browns. 
Blacks are sought for in dead and blue blacks. 
Beaver, otter and similar furs are sometimes 

176 









PALE RACCOON DRESSED, BLENDED DARK GROUND, 
SCALP TRIMMED OFF FOR MOUNTING. (Gottlieb Dyes) 

(This is same skin as shown on page 109 in the raw) 



177 



178 HOME MANUFACTURE OF FURS 

"silvered" by brushing lightly with a solution of 
acid or made a golden yellow by an application 
of peroxide of hydrogen. 

One firm which makes a specialty of ready 
prepared dyes and other preparations for furriers 
use, lists about thirty products for dyeing, besides 
prepared cleaners, bleaches, leather colors, etc. 
These are especially adapted to be used in a small 
way, with economy, as they do away with com- 
pounding and keeping chemicals which are liable 
to deteriorate. 

BLEACHING FURS. 

Make a solution of soda and water in the 
proportion of two ounces of soda to one quart 
w^ater. Immerse in this two hours, wring a^d 
put in a bath of peroxide hydrogen and vrater 
equal parts. Leave in for ten or twelve hoars, 
remove and dry in the sun or by gentle stove 
heat. Shake out and comb. If not sufficiently 
bleached repeat the peroxide bath, as it is the 
bleaching agent. If the top fur only is wanted 
bleached, brush it with soda water, one ounce to 
the quart of water. Let it lie all day and dry, 
then beat it out and brush with peroxide with no 
water added. Let lie over night and dry in the 
sun if possible. Beat and comb afterwards, of 
course. 



COLORS AND FORMULAS 179 

GOLDEN BROWN ON PLUCKED FURS. 

Apply a mixture of one fluid ounce of nitric 
acid and twice as much water to the fur only, 
with a brush. Use care not to apply too much at 
one time, do not let it penetrate to or touch the 
pelt or it will be burned. Use a brush of vege- 
table fibre. When brushed all over lay in the sun 
or in gentle stove heat to dry. If of an even color, 
sponge oft* the fur with clear water to remove the 
acid and dry again. If it should show spots when 
dry after one application of the acid solution, 
brush it again with it before washing. 

To color sheep mats the bright shades they 
are commonly seen in, the common package dyes 
for sale at drug stores are sufficient, and they 
should have with each package directions how to 
apply and what mordants to use in order to make 
the colors fast. These as well as some appended 
formulas, call for a considerable degree of heat, 
so it may be well to keep the skin itself from 
much contact with the hot liquor by fastening it 
on boards or frames and immersing the wool only. 
Sheepskin is none too durable at best. 

BLACK FOR SHEEPSKINS. 

Boil five pounds logwood chips in one gallon 
water; wiien cooled to about 12 degrees, put the 
skin in and let it remain an hour or two. Ee- 



180 HOME MANUFACTURE OF FURS 

move, wash in cold water and hang up to dry 
until next day. Then prepare a fixing bath or 
mordant by boiling twelve ounces copperas, two 
ounces blue stone or sulphate of copper and six- 
teen ounces cream of tartar in one gallon of 
water, while this is still hot (about the same as 
the dye was used) put the skin in for two hours. 
Kemove, wash in cold Avater and hang up to dry. 

BROWN COLOR. 

One pound catechu in one gallon of water 
and to fix, % pound sulphate of copper in one 
gallon water. If the color is not deep enough 
repeat the entire process. Of course the skins 
must be thoroughly cleaned before attempting to 
color them. 

COLORING SHEEP SKINS. (WOOL ON). 

ORANGE. 

For each skin one ounce picric acid, dissolve 
in enough water to cover the skin. 

MAGENTA. 

Put % ounce magenta crystals in sufficient 
water to cover the skin. Dissolve these colors in 
a quart or two of boiling water and add enough 
more to make the required quantity. It should 
not be warmer than hands can be held in com- 



COLORS AND FORMULAS 181 

fortably. Leave the skin in the solution until a 
good color is had, then remove and set the color 
by dipping in about the same amount of water, 
to which a pint of vinegar or alcohol has been 
added. 

While drying shake and rub them to prevent 
hardening. In fact, work them much as in the 
softening after tawing. It is well to experiment 
on waste pieces of skins before going ahead with 
any amount, as this will give an opportunity to 
change the proportions of the dye. 

Goat skins are treated much the same as 
sheep ; some recommend using the mordant first 
in their case. A general rule seems to be that the 
hotter the dye the shorter immersion necessary. 

The Ursols which have been mentioned be- 
fore as being much used in fur dyeing, are some- 
times difficult to procure. They come in a solid 
state and are to be dissolved in boiling water. 
When using them the color develops on the fur 
by oxidation, from treatment with peroxide of 
hj'drogen, bichromate and permanganate of pot- 
ash, etc. These are sometimes applied as a mor- 
dant before dyeing or mixed with the ursol solu- 
tion. The great advantage of these materials is 
that with them furs may be dyed in a cold or at 
most tepid bath and produce fast browns and 
blacks of all shades. The manufacturers of the 
ursols give a few general directions for their use. 



182 HOME MANUFACTURE OF FURS 

BLACKS AND BROWNS. 

For blacks the products known as Ursol D., 
D. D. and D. B. are used while P. and 2 G. pro- 
duces brown. P. produces a reddish brown and 
2 G. a yellowish brown, D. a dead black, D. D. a 
blue black and D. B. a blue black with bluesh 
tone predominating. Combinations of these with 
the proper oxidizing agents will produce a great 
variety of shades. Hydrogen peroxide is most 
commonly used in combination with these dyes. 

When using chromate of potash in a mordant 
previous to dyeing, hydrogen i)eroxide in the pro- 
portion of about % pint to each % ounce of ursol 
should be used and about three times that amount 
of peroxide where a chrome mordant is not used. 
A solution of chloride of lime may be substituted 
for the peroxide where brown shades are wanted. 

In mixing ursol dyes, do as already described 
in coloring sheep skins, dissolve in a small quan- 
tity of boiling water then add cooler to make up 
the desired amount. 

Some varieties of fur are very resistant to 
dye material, especially wiry, bristly hairs. 
These have to be treated with alkali compounds 
or '^killed.'' Lime powder is much used for this 
purpose in company with other substances. After 
'^killing" or brushing with these solutions, furs 
should be dried and beaten to free them from the 
lime dust. 



td tri *xl 

(T) O [U 




183 



184 HOME MANUFACTURE OF FURS 

A common form of killing is made of 

1% oz Powdered Lime 

% oz Soda 

1 oz Litharge 

1% oz Copperas 

Dissolved in a quart of boiling water. 
Add the lime last and the soda before it. 
Another is the same amount of lime and copperas 
with % ounces of alum. Solutions of soda alone 
of varying strength, from 2 to 6 ounces to the 
quart of water are used for the same purpose. 

Different furs require different treatment. 
Angora goat, for instance, is said to dye a good 
black without any mordant by using a solution 
of % oz. Ursol D. and a pint of peroxide in two 
gallons of water. The dye stuff should be at a 
temperature of 75 to 85 degrees, and a twelve 
hour immersion is needed. Furs will generally 
take a black by immersing for 12 hours in a mor- 
dant of 

Water 2 gal. 

Bichromate Potash % oz. 

Sulphate of Copper i/4 oz. 

This should be at about 75 degrees when the 
skins are put in, and on removal rinse and dye 
with 

Ursol D 1/2 oz. 

Peroxide of Hydrogen % pt. 

in 2 gal. water. 



COLORS AND FORMULAS 185 

Tlie duration and temperature of the bath 
should be as before given. For merely tipping 
furs a much stronger solution is applied to the 
upper hair only with a brush. Make this solu- 
tion from 4 to 8 times as strong and let skins 
brushed or tipped lie several hours or over night 
fur side together before drying. Furs like opos- 
sum and raccoon will need to be brushed with 
killing so the tip dye will take. In using P. and 
2 G. use ammonia at the rate of % to % fluid oz. 
to the gallon of water and produce the darker 
shades of brown by adding D. in varying 
amounts. 

A reddish brown is secured after using the 
chrome mordant by applying : 

P 1/8 oz. 

Peroxide of Hydrogen i/4 pt. 

Ammonia % to % oz. 

in 2 gal. water. 

For darker browns use twice as much am- 
monia and fours times as much peroxide with 
% oz. each of D. and 2 G. and 1 oz. P. in the 
usual quantity of water. No set rules can be 
given by even the expert dyer or chemist, every- 
thing being dependent on the condition of the 
skins to be colored. 

The Ursols may be made up in solution with- 
out the addition of the oxidizing asrents and so 



186 HOME MANUFACTURE OF FURS 

kept for use or experiment, mixing small quanti- 
ties as needed. It is probably best to begin with 
weak solutions and if dark enough shades are not 
produced, increase the strength or repeat the ap- 
plication. In many cases an interval of some 
time, even a week or ten days, is required to de- 
velop the full effect of the chemicals. 

No fur is ever really better than a natural 
one. Dyeing tends to deteriorate both the hair 
and leather, making the former more brittle and 
liable to wear and shortening the life of the 
latter. 

Furs in their natural colors will fade from 
long exposure to light, even when on the animal's 
back, and more rapidly as a dead skin. Artificial 
coloring can hardly be expected to be more per- 
manent, nor is it. 

OLD TIME COLORING RECIPE. 

A chapter on coloring furs would be hardly 
complete without directions that have appeared 
for years in everything on the subject. For 
Brown : Make a paste of equal parts powdered 
lime and litharge with water and apply to fur 
with a brush. A yellowish brown from one or two 
coats is darkened by each succeeding coat. Give 
a coat of the solution of nitrate of silver and am- 
monia to produce black. 



COLORS AND FORMULAS 187 

% oz Nitrate of Silver 

4 oz Carbouate Ammonia 

1% gi Kain Water 

Keep corked tight and apply with a brush 
for a brown. Successive coats darken. 

Do not think this will be as good as regular 
fur dyes and at present it costs even more to 
make yourself, but give it for what it may be 
worth. 

We would advise the fur worker in a small 
way to confine the use of fur dyes to such touch- 
ing up and blending as is needful in combining 
ill assorted skins and repairing worn and faded 
furs. 

In the recipes given, the figures are for av- 
erage amounts. More is sometimes needful and 
less may be often used. Kesults are not guaran- 
teed, nor would they be by the most expert, with- 
out a sample of the goods for examination and 
experiment. 



CHAPTER XXL 

FURRIERS^ TOOLS AND SUPPLIES. 

THE appended list of furriers' tools and 
material may look threatening in its en- 
tirety, but it must be borne in mind that 
while much can be accomplished with less, it is 
much easier to do good work with the proper 
appliances. Many of these things will be already 
at hand, too, such as hammer, pliers, needles, 
scissors, etc., and considerable material suitable 
may be had at the dry goods stores or from the 
general catalog houses. Some items, of course, 
are only handled by the furriers supply dealers, 
whose price lists should be procured, as they 
enumerate and describe about everything needful 
and also keep pace with the ever changing styles. 
If only minor repairs are expected with, say, 
an occasional skin to be made up for sportsmen 
as muff, collar, rug or robes, but few special tools 
are necessary; but if a considerable volume of 
even such work is to be had, quite an expenditure 
for tools and materials will be justified. Some 
things most indispensable are : 

Fur Cutting Knives Awls 
Fur Combs Seal Press 

188 



FUEBIERS^ TOOLS AND SUPPLIES 



189 



Pliers 


Scissors 


Tweezers 


Needles 


Pinking Irons 


Blocking and Nailing 


Muff Blocks 


Pins 




FURRIER'S KNIFE 



Hammers 

Furs may be cut and trimmed with almost 
any sharp knife but the shape of the regular fur- 
riers' knife adapts 
it to the purpose, 
and a combination 
of knife and comb 
is a particularly 
handy thing for the small shop or repairer. 

Combs are made of steel, brass and German 
silver, running as fine as twenty teeth to the inch 
for use on fur seal up to the baby garden rakes 
for rohe makers. There is a plyer made with 
especial shaped handles for stretching out the 
edges of dressed skins, etc., but an ordinary plyer 
will do. The tweezers are the usual fine pointed 
ones, as are also the assortment of sewing, har- 
ness and brad awls. It is w^ell to have at least 
two sizes of pinking iron to suit large and small 
work, and the V shaped cutters will save both 
time and material. By cutting down the middle 
of a strip of felt of suitable width with these 
irons, two pieces of border are produced at once. 
Folding the felt over once expedites this job, too. 



190 HOME MANUFACTURE OF FURS 

Muff blocks for stretching and shaping skins 
sewn up for muffs are only to be had of the sup- 
ply dealers, and are needed for all but single 
skins made in open rug styles or with ruffled 
satin muff beds. The seal press is principally 
used when goods are sent out on approval to 
prevent substitution, and will not be of much use 
to the custom worker and repairer. 

A good supply of needles for both cloth and 
skins is inexpensive as are the necessary pins. 
For nailing, long, slender brads may be substi- 
tuted for pins. 

Of the following supplies, it will be neces- 
sary to keep on hand a small stock of some things, 
like glass eyes, artificial skulls, noses, claws and 
fasteners. A line of samples of the various lin- 
ings serve to order from, and where the skins are 
brought in the raw there will be sufficient time 
to procure them. 

Lining Satin, Plain Sheet Wadding 

Lining Satin, Brocaded Muff Beds 
Quilted Lining Glass Eyes 

Kubbered Lining Head Forms, closed 

Scarf Chains mouth 

Artificial Noses Head Forms, open 

Artificial Claws mouth 

Stiffening Canvas Fasteners, Hooks, 

Robe Plush . Loops, etc. 

Eug Felt 



FURRIERS^ TOOLS AND SUPPLIES 191 

The manufacturers or dealers will supply 
samples with descriptions and prices of most of 
these goods. The satins are usually 27 in. wide, 
quilted satin 24 and quilted coat lining 36 inches. 
Pinked felt borders are 3 in. wide, and the piece 
goods is either 36 or 72, usually the latter. Wad- 
ding comes in either nearly square sheets or rolls 
32 and 36 inches in width. 

Chains, noses, claws and the smaller head 
forms are sold in dozen and gross lots, the larger 
sized head forms suitable for rugs sell singly, and 
glass eyes for mounting by the pair or 10 pair 
lots. Muff beds have lately been handled by 
many large dry goods dealers at retail; supply 
dealers sell them in dozen and gross lots. Cloth 
tops or shells for both men's and women's fur 
lined coats are to be had ready made in a variety 
of sizes, qualities and materials. The addition 
of the fur lining and trimming completes these. 
New York City is the chief source of furriers' 
supplies for this country, and many firms there 
make this their business exclusively. 



CHAPTER XXII. 

MAKING UP FURS AND GARMENTS. 

IT is not within the scope of this book to in- 
struct in the mysteries of the fashionable 
furriers' work, but rather to furnish some 
hints to tliose wlio would like to protect them- 
selves or their friends from cold and storm with 
the spoils of trap and gun. 

Though the treatment of skins differs in 
many respects from that given cloth in making 
into garments, many essential points are the 
same. For this reason some experience in the 
tailoring line is useful if not absolutely neces- 
sary^ to the fur worker. What we call fur gar- 
ments nowadays are at most combinations of 
sJdns and textiles. 

Aside from some preparatory work, furs are 
dealt with much the same ,as a heavily napped 
cloth would be. Such goods, that are very good 
imitations of furs, are on the market. The regu- 
lar shape of these piece goods, makes for economy 
as also the ease with which they are made up, but 
thej will never displace the animal skins which 
they so cleverly counterfeit. 

192 



MAKING UP FURS AND GARMENTS 193 

Unless already a pattern draughtsman, the 
ready made patterns will assist the fur worker 
as much as they do the home dressmaker. They 
can be had readily from the dry goods dealers or 
by mail at small expense, not only for coats and 
wraps, but for caps, muffs, collarettes and simi- 
lar things. The Fall Fashion Books contain pat- 
terns of fur pieces, and quite often some are 
shown in the Winter Fashion Books. 

In taking measurements for fur coats they 
should be made loose with ample allowance for 
winter clothing beneath. Some years ago the 
velvet-like close fitting seal skin coats were the 
style, but for real use and protection against cold, 
fur garments should be made loose fitting. The 
present generation of auto riders have realized 
this and are comfortable in their bulky looking 
wraps of coarse furs. 

In cutting fur, lay the patterns on the flesh 
side of skin and mark it with pencil or chalk. 
Then with the furrier's knife (or any very sharp 
knife) cut just through the leather of the skin. 
Do all cutting from the flesh side and never try 
to cut fur with scissors. All sewing also should 
be done from the back or flesh side of furs, the 
necessary finishing or sewing, fastenings, linings, 
etc., of course are on the front or fur side. 

Use good thread in sewing, for very delicate 
furs silk, and in all other cases linen of suitable 




"POLISH FUR STITCH" 



194 HOME MANUFACTURE OF FURS 

size; carpet thread is good for medium and large 
size skins. Gilling thread will answer for coats 
and robes. Skins sliould be sewed with an over 
and over stitch, sometimes called the ^Tolish fur 

stitch/' and a small 
thread doubled is 
often better than a 
large single thread, as 
the latter is more apt to cut out of tender skins. 
A little beeswax on the thread will help it to run 
smoothly. Regular waxed ends may be used for 
heavy buckskin work like mittens and moccasins. 
Thorough dressing and good sewing will 
turn out durable furs, and nothing is more exas- 
perating than to have a nice looking fur gape at 

the seams and start falling 



< ^\A 7\/^ i to pieces because of rotten 

thread or poor sewing. 
In sewing a fur seam, 
*^**~*— ^ " one piece may stretch more 

than the other on account 
(i) BASE BALL STITCH of bclug lighter leather, or 
(2) OVER STITCH f^^ soiuc othcr rcasou may 

not look like coming out even. Now if you will 
take the stitches just a little longer on the long 
side it will probably be remedied ; if the seam is 
inclined to pucker, dampen it a little and stretch, 
it will flatten out. Measure up before you near 
the end of a long seam, so there may be time to 




MAKING UP FURS AND GARMENTS 195 

remedy anything of the sort. It is often a good 
plan to begin, in the middle of a long seam and 
work each way. 

The average layman knows very little about 
furs and is more or less at the mercy of the fur 
worker. Your recommendations are apt to be 
followed if they seem sound. As an example, a 
bunch of skins may come in, far from prime and 
in bad shape, as the coat which the owner wishes 
they would be a distinct failure and a poor ad- 
vertisement for you. As a floor rug they might 
be quite satisfactory. Endeavor to show by 
comparison, etc., why you do not wish to make 
them up as the coat. 

Some people seem to think if a skin is pro- 
duced in the extreme north It must be of the very 
best. Tourists in Alaska were frequently victim- 
ized formerly and purchased at good round sums, 
the summer skins and shedders, culls, which the 
traders refused as not worth the freight. At one 
time a shrewd business man brought a number of 
raw skins of the hair seal which he had bid in at 
bargain (?) prices at auction, with visions of a 
soft, elegant coat for his wife. Were they not 
genuine Alaska seal skins? He had heard that 
the furriers could pluck the stiff hairs out and 
dye them to get the right effect. An army officer 
had a robe of some unknown but beautiful skin 
which he had procured in North China; could 



196 HOME MANUFACTURE OF FURS 

the fur be identified and valued? Inspection 
sliowed it to be trimmings from tlie fur shops, 
fox paws chiefly, and while rather unique, hardly 
valuable. 

Repair work is a help to the would-be manu- 
facturer, for in ripping apart old work much in- 
sight into the mode of construction is gained. 
Sometimes this will prove to be the easiest way 
to get a desired pattern. 

Strive to give all work a neat finish, as lack 
of this spoils the effect often. Do not be dis- 
couraged by a mistake occasionally, the best 
workmen make them, though it is sometimes diffi- 
cult for them to explain to the boss why both coat 
sleeves were cut for the same side. Finally, don't 
undertake the impossible or unprofitable. You 
can't imitate skunk with woodchuck, and though 
you may be able to pluck and dye a muskrat to 
imitate seal, it will be a long time before you can 
do it at a profit for ten or twelve cents each as 
tlie professional can. 



CHAPTER XXIII. 

FUR ROBES. 

THE increasing use of the automobile has 
stimulated the production of fur robes 
and coats, as furs are the only material 
that will protect from the cold winds encoun- 
tered in riding during the winter months. 

Horse and cattle hides, properly dressed and 
lined make perfect one piece robes and are nearly 
wind, rain and moth proof. Select hides that are 
as free from blemishes as possible and of an av- 
erage size. A good length and thickness of fur 
or hair is more important than the color, as that 
can be made uniform by dyeing. Such skins can 
hardly be dressed economically by hand in large 
quantities, but the large tanning concerns handle 
them satisfactorily at a reasonable cost. 

Smaller skins make up as handsome robes, 
fox, raccoon, coyote and wild cat being frequent- 
ly used ; even selected skins of the domestic sheep 
look well and are as warm as any furs. Straight 
haired goat skins furnish most of the cheaper 
grade fur robes, either in the natural gray color 
or dyed black or brown. 

197 



198 



HOME MANUFACTURE OF FURS 



The leather of these, especially the dyed 
skins, is apt to be tender, Black and brown bear 
make excellent robes but are not often used. 
Robes made of muskrat skins are used in closed 
vehicles but are too delicate to stand much rough 
usage in the open. 

Skins intended for use in a robe should be 

taken off open 
and stretched in 
the shape of a 
recta ngle. The 
head skins are sel- 
dom worked up in 
robes, and if good 
may be trimmed 
off and mounted 
for the wall or 
saved to supply 
d e fi c i e n c ies in 
other skins of the 
LAPROBE same species. The 
tails of wolves and 
foxes may be left on to ornament one side or both 
ends of a robe. 

Sizes of robes vary according to the skins 
used, but they are usually either 48, 54, or 60 
inches wide and 60, 66, 72 or 84 inches long. 
The approximate number of skins of different 
animals needed for a robe are : 









STRONG HIDE (CATTLE) 



FUR ROBES 199 

Horse or Cow 1 

Kip (yearlings) or Bear 2 to 3 

Calf, Goat, Sheep 4 to 8 

Dog, Coyote, Wolf 6 to 10 

Wildcat 12 to 15 

Raccoon, Fox 12 to 20 

VYoodclinck, Opossum, Muskrat 20 to 30 

The general effect will be better if all the 
skins used in a robe are of about the same size. 

After dressing, all 

C^^^""**^^*?"- ^^ — ""T™^ ^^^® ^^d holes in 
1'%, '^pf; ^''^^^^4 ttie skins should 

I H^'," ' '':r' ' ' '^$i ■ 'IC" I ^^ ^ ^ ^^' II up. and 

I M' ^^B-"^ *^ after dampening 

i/' jM- ^ ,^,^^^ .-'r j the flesh sides, 

r 'r^"':^*":'' ""'"'-'' ^^\ ] stretch and tack 

%'^- ''* f '4 ' '#'^^1 t^^iu ^^^ flat, fur 

Wt- '- fc-^ -^ ' ^^-^ 1 ^^^^ down. In do- 

fWf:'' ^' vJ: f-'-f 1 ing this get them 

M^^ ^- ■'* P !#' ^Ik ^Pi'^ad as evenly 

^ ^ahi» < *»*^ jL...^iaaia&ia^^^^^2.^^^^ as you can, so they 

COYOTE LAPROBE, 8 SKINS will wastc as little 

Note tails in center. aS pOSSible in 

trimming. 
For this nailing out skins, a number of light 
boards are cleated together and laid on a pair of 
trestles of suitable height. Several of these port- 
able nailing boards are handy, as they can be 



200 



HOME MANUFACTURE OF FURS 



lifted off and set on edge at one side of the room 
while skins are drying. When dry the skins are 
cut to a uniform size. If they have a darker line 
down the middle of the back, take care to get it 
in the center of each. Eather than cut down 
skins too much, piece out gaps in front of and 
behind the legs. Cut a pattern of the size you 
think suits best and mark around it on the skins 
before cutting them. 

Stout glovers needles and a substantial 
tliread like carpet thread should be used in sew- 
ing robes and 
rugs, as they 
must withstand 
much ro u g h e r 
use than other 
furs. Stitches 
should be well 
drawn up though 
they need not be 
fine; strength is 
the main requi- 
site as the fur 
conceals them, 
and if too close together they will, under a strain, 
cut off the margin. Muskrats, that have been 
skinned and stretched with pointed rumps may 
be trimmed to a point at each end and so save 
considerable .waste. In this way the stripe is not 



FUR ROBE OF MUSKRAT SKINS, 
POINTED RUMPS 



FUR ROBES 201 

continuous when they are put together but giving 
the robe a mottled appearance. 

After cutting out the needed number of 
skins they are sewed togetlier in rows and the 
rows in turn sewed to eacli other in the manner 
of making patchwork quilt. The fur is usually 
made to run all one way; sometimes it may be 
arranged to run from the center towards both 
sides. This sewing is all done from the back of 
the skins, using the regular furrier's overhand 
stitch. 

Dampen the back of the complete robe and 
stretch and nail it out again to its full extent, to 
remove wrinkles and flatten the seams. When 
dry it is ready for the border and lining. 

Sometimes it is necessary to turn the edge 
of the skin and baste it down to prevent the raw 
edge showing. The border, consisting of strips 
of felt about 3 inches wide, scalloped or pinked 
along one edge may be bought ready to use, or 
you can procure felt in the piece and cut and 
pink it. A small hand iron used with a hammer 
or mallet on the end of a hardwood block will do 
as good work but not as fast as a small pinking 
machine. 

The cost of one of these is about |5.00, and 
where much robe and rug work is done it would 
be of great use, as also would a heavy fur over- 



202 



HOME MANUFACTURE OF FURS 



stitch machine. The border may be either single 
or double with the upper one % or an inch nar- 
rower than the lower, and usually of a contrast- 
ing color. This border is sewed on from the 
back, running the needle obliquely through with 
a short stitch on the fur side and a long one on 

the cloth. An in- 
terlininsr of cotton 



AAAAA<VS?SA?S?V<> 




■/»-?-?^^X.'2-3'^^S^ ' 



BRIAR STITCH ON LINING 



sheet wadding is to 
be basted to the 
back of the robe be- 
fore the cloth lining is fastened in place. For 
this lining, felt is sometimes used, but plush or 
beaver cloth are more durable. They come in 54 
and 60 inch widths, thus cutting to good advan- 
tage. All edges of this lining should be turned 
under and it should be sewed to the border or 
borders with a stitch the reverse of that used in 
sewing the border to the skins. That is, with a 
long stitch in the border, but a short one on the 

outside of 1 i n i n g. 




SEWING BORDER AND LINING 



This will sink into 
the pile of the 
cloth, if pulled 
snug, thus escaping 
both notice and wear. Of course a thread ap- 
proximating the color of the cloth is used, and 
in sewing the border to the fur the thread used 
should blend with the fur, not the border. 



FUR ROBES 



:03 



Baby carriage robes are made of angora or 
lamb skins lined and trimmed with light colors, 
usually white, blue or pink. Quilted satin or 
eiderdown cloth is used to line, and wadding is 
unnecessary. They usually have an openingfor 
the head and shoulders and sometimes a pocket 
for the feet. The sizes vary from 19x24 in to 
24x36 in. 

Eobes are subject to much wear and tear 

and calls for repairs are 
more frequent than or- 
ders for new work. In 
order to sew up rips and 
tears in the skins pro- 
perly it is necessary to 
rip at least one side of 
the lining loose and turn 
the robe. Large robes, 
badly worn around the 
edges, may be cut down 
slightly in size if no 
similar material is at 
hand for repairs. Dress- 
ed, unlined goat '^plates'' or rugs may be bought 
to repair robes of that kind. Often replacing 
worn and soiled lining and border with new and 
giving the fur a good beating and combing will 
make a shabby robe practically like new. 




BABY CARRIAGE ROBE 



CHAPTER XXIV. 

FUR RUGS^ WITH AND WITHOUT MOUNTED 
HEADS. 

ALMOST all fur skins except some few of 
the most expensive varieties are used for 
floor rugs and some species like the Polar 
and Grizzly Bears, Tiger, Jaguar, Puma, Lion 
and Leopard are used for little else. 

A skin intended for a rug should be taken 
off ^^open,-' taking special care to remove the 
whole of the skin around ears, eyes, nose and 
mouth. The paws of such animals as bears, 
tigers, and pumas should be skinned to the last 
joint of the toes before cutting off, as the paws 
with claws attached add to the appearance of 
such large skins. The paws are frequently pre- 
served on smaller skins like fox and wild cat 
but are hardly worth the trouble, being so small 
that a careless step will crush them. 

Stretch the skins to dry in the approximate 
shape of the finished rug, and avoid drawing it 
out in ragged points. When sufficiently dry fold 
fur side in and pack or ship to the tanner. If 
convenient to dress it at once or put it in the 

204 



FUR RUGS, WITH AND WITHOUT HEADS 205 

pickle tub until a leisure day, the stretching and 
drying can be omitted. 

If to be mounted with the natural teeth, 
clean the skull roughly of brains and flesh and 
dry it out thoroughly, then attach it securely to 
the skin; inside if it is folded up. Dress rug 
skins as you would any fur skin, though they 
will last as well if not thinned too much. The 




NATURAL SKULLS— DOG WOLF, SHE WOLF, BAY LYNX, 

OTTER, MINK 

hand scraper and small knife should be used 
around the head and feet. 

Floor rugs made up in the flat, that is with- 
out heads, are made much the same way as lap 
robes; sometimes they are left in the animal 
shape. Cattle, sheep, goat and deer hides are 
often made up so, and smaller skins like raccoon 
and fox may be cut to a rectangular shape and 
joined together in rows of two to six. Sewing 
two of tliese rows together at the necks will 



206 



HOME MANUFACTURE OF FURS 



make a good floor rug, with the tails decorating 
the ends or sides, as the case may be. 

Large single skins and square rugs in the 
flat, line best like fur robes, that is, a border of 
pinked felt is sewed all around the rug, cotton 
wadding basted in for interlining and a lining of 
felt or cotton canvas sewed to the border all 
around. 




WILD CAT RUG— ONE-HALF HEAD 



When heads are wanted on rugs they are 
usually mounted half head or ''mask" style or 
full head open mouth. This half head or "mask'' 
mounting consists of the upper part of the head 
skin only, the lower jaw is not represented at 
all, and the mounted head lies much flatter to 
the floor than when the full head is mounted 
with the mouth open. For mounting with open 
mouth either the natural or artiflcial teeth are 



FUR RUGS, WITH AND WITHOUT HEADS 207 




necessary. The latter may be had already placed 
ill an artificial skull, or separately. 

These open mouth head forms have the in- 
terior of the mouth and tongue modeled, and 
finished with paint or colored Avax. Their anat- 
omy is as nearly accurate as is necessary and 
practical, and examination of one will aid you 
if it should be necessary to model a few heads 
that may be wanted with the natural teeth. 

The forms for half heads are so cheap that 

unless a cer- 
tain kind is 
wanted in con- 
siderable num- 
bers it is bet- 
t e r to buy 
them. In case 
the making is 
u n d e rtaken, 
make a plaster 
m old of the 
upper part of 
the head, in two pieces, by imbedding a skinned 
head in clay or sand up to the mouth and pouring 
plaster of paris over it. Before doing this scoop 
out the eyes and partly fill the sockets with clay, 
so the paper form may have a depression in 
which to set the glass eyes. The plaster should 
be mixed with water to the consistency of thick 



^'A~ 


O^-v ^ 


^ 


0^ — 



(2) MAKING MOULD FOR 
(1) FINISHED MOULD 



HEAD FORM 



208 HOME MANUFACTURE OF FURS 

cream. A bottomless box of thin wood will pre- 
vent it spreading around too much, and a stout 
thread stuck along the top of the head, and 
pulled up through the plaster as it 'begins to 
harden will cut the mould in two pieces. An or- 
dinary cigar box without the bottom is about 
right to use in getting the mould of a fox or coon 
head. 

To make a paper form in this mould, make 
a cup of flour paste and soak a few handfuls of 
building or coarse wrapping paper. The paper 
should be torn in pieces approximately 3 to 8 
inches square, according to the size of the head 
and after soaking in water 10 or 15 minutes be 
squeezed about as dry as can be Avith the hands. 
Paste a number of pieces on one side and press 
them into the inside of the mold with the fingers, 
letting them overlap each other and making a 
complete layer. Put the unpasted side next the 
mold or there may be trouble when it is time to 
remove it. Repeat this process until there is 
from 5 to 10 layers of paper in place, the number 
depending on the thickness of the paper and size 
of the head. In order to get each layer complete 
and so make the form of uniform thickness it is 
best to have paper of two colors and use them in 
alternate layers. Common paper flour sacks are 
nice for small heads, as they are very tough paper 
and being of a different color inside, the pieces 



FUR RUGS, WITH AND WITHOUT HEADS 209 

are merely reversed every other layer. Let the 
edges project somewhat from the mold and trim 
off with knife or shears after removing the form. 
Set the mold with its paper lining in a warm 
place a few hours to dry. When the paper is 
about dr}" cut the string and free the mold from 
the hollow paper cast." 

If a mold like this is made from each species 
of animal received in the flesh, it will not be long 
until a record is on hand of the facial character- 
istics of most of the fur bearers, which will be 
extremely useful. The whole operation is not 
very formidable, and the forms need not be made 
at once ; in fact, it is best to Avait until several 
molds are on hand, as one batch of paste and 
paper will fill them all. 

These forms are complete for mounting half- 
heads, and if a mould is made for the lower jaw 
may be fitted with the natural teeth and com- 
I)leted as open mouth heads. To do this success- 
fully requires considerable practice and some na- 
tural ability for modelling. 

The bones of upper and lower jaws contain- 
ing the teeth should be wired to the paper forms 
and set firmly in place with plaster of paris to 
which a little liquid glue has been added. A 
very little glue will retard the setting enough to 
give plenty of time for modelling and make the 
plaster much harder and less likely to crumble 



210 HOME MANUFACTURE OF FURS 

when dry. If this plaster and glue has a quan- 
tity of ground paper pulp mixed with it, the 
weight and also the liability to crack will be re- 
duced. The best finish for the inside of the mouth 
is made of equal parts beeswax and paraffin, col- 
ored with tube paints. Melt the wax together 
and dipping out a spoonful, squeeze a little color 
into it and stir until well mixed. Add this grad- 
ually to the rest of the wax, stirring as you do 
so. Cakes of wax of suitable colors for mouth 
finishing are carried by dealers in taxidermists' 
supplies. 

The tongue may be either modeled in place 
or made separately and put in after waxing both 
it and the mouth. Very small tongues are often 
whittled out of wood. A little glue on the bot- 
tom and a finishing brad, set in and covered with 
a drop of wax hold them in place, and a few 
brushes full of hot wax connect them with the 
mouth. Melt modeling wax in pressed tin cups 
and apply with small flat and round brushes. It 
can be worked into shape with warm metal tools, 
and should not be heated too hot as that turns it 
dark. The above directions are given, as the 
owner of a skin frequently wishes the natural 
teeth used. 

In ordering head forms from dealers, give 
the name of animal and the distance in inches 
from nose to eye and eye to ear. In an emergency, 



FUR RUGS, WITH AND WITHOUT HEADS 211 

a half head form may be built up with tow or 
excelsior on a base of thin board, winding the 
material into shape with thread or cord and giv- 
ing it a heavy coat of clay. Cut the board into 
the shape the head would have, if it were split 
back from the corners of the mouth. Before 
mounting, the skin of the head must be well 
pared down and stretched to its full extent 
around nose, eyes and lips, and the ears skinned 
or pocketed to their tips. Sew up all cuts and 
holes, dampen the head skin and give it a coating 
inside with arsencial solution if you wish to keep 
insects away. We have to omit this on fur cloth- 
ing and run the chances, but rugs are not in such 
close contact with the owner's person. 

Cover the surface of the form with modeling 
clay or a mixture of water, glue and whiting if 
you prefer. Set the glass eyes in their places. 
Cut two pieces of pasteboard the shape of the 
ears but a little smaller, and after coating both 
sides with glue slip them inside the ears. Now 
put the skin on the form, get the ears, eyes and 
nose in place and drive a few pins through skin 
and form, in a line along the center of the head. 
You probably pared away little bunches of mus- 
cle attached to the skin around the base of the 
ears, eye brows and base of the whiskers, each 
side of the nose. Eeplace them with wads of tow 
and clay, and mold into shape with the fingers on 



212 HOME MANUFACTURE OF FURS 

the outside of the skin. Shape the nose with nos- 
trils open and place the eyelids right, using the 
point of an awl and the fingers. Draw the skin 
down each side and sew around the edge of form 
with coarse stitches. 

Dampen and poison the whole skin on the 
inside, if all holes are repaired, and laying it on 
the floor or a nailing board, stretch and nail in a 
line from head to tail, fur side up. Stretch the 
legs as you want them and nail at short intervals 
arou]id the edge of skin. 

There will probably be folds of skin between 
the legs and body ; fold these over and when dry 
cut out and sew up gores of sufficient size to 
make the skin lay perfectly flat. Do this after 
the skin has dried and been removed from the 
nailing board. Trim the outer edges to give it an 
even outline and it is ready for border and lining. 
Stuff the head form with some paper or excelsior 
and sew a piece of cloth over it to keep it in 
13lace. 

If a small skin like fox or wild cat, felt may 
be used for both lining and trimming ; large skins 
need stronger material like cotton canvas for lin- 
ing. Lay it on a piece of felt and draw a mark 
around it with chalk, keeping about three inches 
from the skin. This cut out and pinked around 
the edge makes the lining and one border. The 
other border is a strip of felt about two inches 



FUR RUGS, WITH AND WITHOUT HEADS 213 

wide, pinked on one edge and sewn around the 
entire outer edge of the skin. Gather it neatly 
when rounding the head and paws. If the tail is 
bushy like a wolf or fox, a border or lining for it 
is not necessary; short furred tails should have 
both. 

This border is sewed on as a robe border is, 
using good thread, of a color to blend with the 
fur. Any fur caught in the stitches should be 
picked out with an awl. The wadding interlining 
basted in, the lining and second border combined 
is sewed on. Lay the skin on this and adjust it 
carefully to get the margin alike all around. Pin 
it in several places to prevent getting it oat of 
place while sewing. 

This lining is sewed on from the back to the 
first border, either using colored silkatine and a 
briar stitch or common thread and the stitch used 
in lining robes. The latter of course is nearly 
invisible, the fancy stitch in silkatine outlines the 
skin on the lining. 

On large skins a double felt border is sewed 
on and a canvas lining large enough to turn in 
all around sewed to it. Large skins also need to 
be tied to the lining in several places, as is done 
with bedding, to keep lining and wadding in 
place. 

Open mouth rugs are handled about the 
same way, pinning the skin of the lips to the form 



214 HOME MANUFACTURE OF FURS 

instead of sewing. Animals like tigers and 
lions have prominent whiskers which must be 
preserved and displayed to look well. These are 
rooted in thick lumps of muscle, which must not 
be cut away or the whiskers will drop out. In 
order to loosen them up without this happening, 
criss-cross these muscles with cuts which will 
produce the desired effect. 

When the mounted heads have thoroughly 
dried, cut off all projecting pins, brush the fur 
clean of clay or dust and give the end of the nose 
a thin coat of wax. With a fine brush paint hot 
black Avax on the eyelids to connect them with 
the glass eyes. The lips are in the same way 
connected with the gums of the artificial mouth. 

Black is the color needed for the nose and 
lips of most animals; some require brown. It 
usually blends gradually into the pink of the 
mouth. Never finish the mouth of a polar bear 
in pink or red, however, it is in nature a peculiar 
purple much like a Concord grape. 

In setting the ears, bend them back along 
the neck usually ; the head with open mouth and 
bared fangs is intended to express a snarl. Some 
head forms are now made for mounting the en- 
tire head with the mouth closed, no teeth being 
used, and others called shells are ready for fast- 
ening the natural teeth in. Tongues, too, in 




INLAID ANIMAL RUG— TWO DIFFERENT KINDS OF FURS 



215 



216 HOME MANUFACTURE OF FURS 

several varieties and sizes may be bought ready 
modeled. 

What are called inlaid fur rugs are made 
with the skin of one animal set into another of a 
contrasting color, such as a fox skin set in some 
black fur, like bear or dyed goat. This makes a 
pleasing variety, and sometimes a large skin that 
is damaged may be utilized in this way. The skin 
of a bear or deer with a large patch shed off or 
torn out in the back can be made up in good shape 
by setting in the skin of a coon or wild cat. 

To do this, cut a pattern of the smaller skin 
after shaping it and mounting the head if you 
like. Lay this pattern on the back of the large 
skin, taking care to get it right side up. Mark 
and cut out, allowing a little for the seam all 
around. Sew this in on the back and then line 
as wanted. The common goat rugs, about 30x60 
inches in size, are often used this way to mount 
skins of fox, coon or wildcat. No border is used 
on these, as the long goat hair is sufficient, and 
the rug is lined with a piece of canvas or denim. 

Considerable repair work, especially on open 
mouthed heads, is often called for. Broken teeth 
can be duplicated by carving bone or block cellu- 
loid, and plaster composition and wax will go far 
to repair damage. 

Every fur shop should have some one capable 
of rug mounting, as it is something that appeals 



FUll RUGS, WITH AND WITHOUT HEADS 217 

to the customer with one or two skins of a kind, 
who wishes to keep them as mementoes or tro- 
phies. No unusual investments in tools or mate- 
rials are needed to execute this work, and when 
finished it combines use and ornament. 

Sometimes a rug will be brought in which 
may possess a good head but be damaged beyond 
any possibility of repair otherwise. It is a sim- 
ple matter to please the owner by preserving tliis 
as a wall mount. Skins trimmed for robes and 
garments, and those badly damaged often furnish 
good head skins, and if you are equal to mounting 
rug heads, they can be as readily mounted for 
the wall. In fact, no fur store or shop seems 
complete without a few of them around. 

To do this we must have a full head form 
with either open or closed 
r^ mouth. Put a piece of board 
in the back of the form and 
^FOR^M^^o^R wiLt^ fasten temporarily with a 
MOUNT small nail or two. Put this in 

the vise and adjust to 3^our liking, then mark and 
saw off at the length of neck you wish. Cut an 
oval shaped piece of board % to an inch thick, of 
the proper size to fit in the neck skin at the point 
where it is to be cut o&, and nail or screw it to 
the end of neck board. The head should have the 
nose either at right angles with the wall or point- 
ing down somewhat. Set the neck board in head 



218 HOME MANUFACTURE OF FURS 

form by pouring plaster Paris around it and let 
it harden. 

Then wind tow or excelsior on the neck with 
thread or cord, to the proper size, coat with soft 
modeling clay, and finish as in mounting rug 
heads. If the head is already mounted the frame 
and neck can be added. A hardwood panel or 
shield screwed to the base of tbe neck completes 
the work. 

We have more than once rejoiced the owner 
of a rug which had been partially destroyed, but 
was valued for associations, by treating the head 
in some such way as above described. 

Fur robes and floor rugs, especially the lat- 
ter which are handled but little, should be pois- 
oned on the inside, before lining, as it will greatly 
reduce the danger of damage by insects. The best 
preparation we have found to use for this is a 
solution of white arsenic. 

ARSENICAL SOLUTION. 

Arsenic (Crystals or Powdered) . 1 lb. 

Bicarbonate of Soda % lb. 

Water 5 pts. 

Put in an old dish, at least twice as large as 
necessary to contain the ingredients, and boil un- 
til the arsenic and soda have dissolved. Stir fre- 
quently while boiling. When cool put in a bottle 
or jar and label plainly as (Poison!). 



FUR RUGS, WITH AND WITHOUT HEADS 219 

To apply, dampen the skin or skins slightly 
on the flesh side and after mixing some of the so- 
lution with whiting to the consistency of thin 
cream paint it over the flesh side with a brush. 
It will penetrate the skin and the ends of the 
hairs Avhere they enter the epidermis, favorite 
pasture for moth larvae and bacon beetles. 

Large mounted game heads are poisoned on the 
outside by spraying with the solution diluted 
with about twice its bulk of water. Test it on a 
black feather and if a gray deposit is left on 
drying, dilute until this is prevented. Apply 
with an atomizer or small garden sprayer. 



CHAPTER XXV. 

TRIMMINGS AND NATURAL HEADS AND TAILS. 



O 



F the making of fur trimmings, like books, 
there seems to be no end. Continually 
changing styles call for something new in 
this line every season. In the great fur centres 
prosperous firms deal in artificial heads or heads 
and tails alone. Thousands of trimming heads 
are sold every year, and many, many tails which 
grew several on the same animal. 

The best ornamental heads are made with 
the natural head skins as a basis. These have 
the ears attached and the fur is of the proper 
length and disposition to look the best. The 
majority of them are wanted in rather smaller 
size than the natural head and are cut down be- 
fore mounting. 

Artificial skulls of paper, cork, rubber and 
composition are for sale in a variety of shapes 
and ranging in size from the smallest ermine to 
about % the natural size of a fox. Some have 
closed mouths, others show a tongue and teeth 
and the fad some seasons ago was for heads with 
movable jaws closed with springs. Noses are 
ready modeled on skulls, for skins minus these 

220 



TRIMMINGS NATURAL HEADS AND TAILS 221 

appendages or they may be had separately to use 
where needed, as they always are where the heads 
are artificial out and out and made up from mere 
scraps of fur. 

The mode of mounting, say a fox head, for 
use* on a boa is about as follows : The head skin 
is dampened on the inside and all edges straight- 




CORNER OF WORK BENCH, HORN CLAWS, ARTIFICIAL 
HEADS OF PAPER AND' COMPOSITION 

ened out, the nose also, usually much wrinkled 
and shrunken, is dampened and the nostrils 
shaped. As it is now the skin is at least an inch 
and a half too long for the skull. It is flattened 
out and a V shaped strip about one inch and a 
quarter wide cut out. The point of this V is just 
back of the nose and the extensions of it run 



222 HOME MANUFACTURE OF FURS 

about to the corners of the mouth. Cutting this 
out removes the eye holes and separates a piece 
of skin with the nose and whiskers attached from 
the rest of the skin. This we replace and sew on. 
shortening the face skin by the width of the V 
cut out and the seam made in sewing. 

Any cuts or tears in the skin are sewn up 
and the skin fitted to the skull. If about right 
this is given a coat of liquid glue on the upper 
surface and the skin adjusted over it. Glass eyes 





SHORTENING NATURAL HEAD SKIN 

on long wires are fastened in their proper places 
by running the wires through holes in the head 
form and twisting them together inside with 
pliers. The inside of the form is filled with a 
bunch of cotton wadding and skin drawn in place 
under that of the upper lips, fastening it by pins 
and sewing. 

The ears are adjusted and sewed and pinned 
in place. If it looks about right now, the head 
may be set to one side to dry, wrapping it with 



TRIMMINGS NATURAL HEADS AND TAILS 223 

tape or strips of cloth first if it seems disposed 
to get out of shape. When dry remove the wrap- 
pings and all unnecessary stitches and pins, and 
touch up the lips and end of nose with black 
varnish. 

If the natural ears are too large. in their full 
size, cut out the base, using the tips only. Where 
the natural ears are missing or too badly dam- 
aged to use, bits of skin with short fur from the 
paws may be made to do duty for ears by clever 
shaping. When the heads are made from waste 
bits of fur it will probably be necessary to clip 
it about the nose. • * 

A head clamp is on the market whereby it is 
possible to make fur heads quickly and perfectly 
and with which but little skill is required to make 
most artistic heads. Heads can be made with 
rubber skulls or without, the result in either case 
being a well shaped head. 

In using this contrivance the skin is sewed 
up as usual, dampened and drawn over the head 
form and placed in the clamp, where it is left 
until dry. On removal the shape is retained per- 
manently. Shaping by hand is done away with 
and the heads made in this way are uniform in 
shape and general appearance. It is made in 
three sizes suited to the following skins : Small, 
mink, ermine; Medium, sable, marten; Large, 
fox, lynx and fisher. Paws of the smaller fur 



224 HOME MANUFACTURE OF FURS 

bearers are used in large numbers as trimmings, 
chiefly the natural paws complete, on the best 
grade of work. When cut from the skins, they 
should be carefully cleaned with hand scraper, 
etc., and if the natural claws are attached so 
much the better. Artificial claws are made in 
horn, pyroline, glass and metal which will take 
the place of those missing. 

Tails are a most important part of most fur 
skins, and the loss of a tail from such skins as 
should possess a beautiful fluify brush cuts its 
value sharply. A black or silver fox skin without 
a tail would be like Hamlet without the Prince 
of Denmark. Still many are destroyed and many 
are wanted, where tails never grew, so the furrier 
is called on to suppl,y them. The best artificial 
tails are made of strips of long haired fur sewed 
spirally on a core of cord or similar material. 
Machines produce the cheaper grade of artificial 
tails. 

Fur band trimming is used in great variety 
in both dyed and natural .furs. This is made of 
furs cut and sewn in long strips, varying in 
width from I/2 to 2 or 3 inches. The plucked and 
dressed skins of swans are mostly used in this 
way. Band trimming is made up both length- 
wise and crosswise of the fur, probably more the 
latter way, though. Buttons, frogs and loops 
covered with fur are required for garment fast- 
eners, etc. 




CHAPTEE XXVI. 

COLLARS, CUFFS^ AND ODD PIECES. 

FEW skins! can be worked up to good ad- 
vantage as collars and cuffs to smarten up 
an old coat. The best way is to cut a 
paper pattern from the garment, allowing for 
seams and thickness of the fur. Some furriers 
make a detachable fur collar which may be worn 
with any overcoat. It requires 1 wild cat or ot- 
ter, 2 raccoons, or 5 or 6 muskrat or skunk skins 
to make, and is cloth lined. The auto hood for 
ladies protects the ears and head from cold 
wind, and is made of about the same amount of 
fur. Cut on the pattern of a cloth hood, with a 
deep fur facing in front. 

Hand bags and purses are little novelties 
that can be made up from scraps of almost any 
of the short haired furs. Plucked otter and 
beaver, ocelot and leopard skins are good ones 
to use in this way. The larger bags will need a 
lining of chamois leather or buckskin. An old 
leather purse or bag will furnish a suitable pat- 
tern. Very small fur heads, the size of ermines, 
can be used to ornament fur purses. At one time 
numbers of alligator paws were made into purses 

225 



226 



HOME MANUFACTURE OF FURS 



for tourists in the Southern states. These are 
usually without metal mountings, being simply 
of leather. 

To make them the skin of the alligator foot 
was removed entire by cutting around above the 
wrist and turning inside out 
nearly to the end of the toes. 
The toes were disconnected at 
the last joint and the nails left 
with the skin. When this had 
been duly dressed, the toes were 
slightly stuffed with cotton or 
tow to keep their shape, and the 
skin of the wrist cut in the shape 
of a flap to close the purse. A 
strip of "gator" leather folded 
and stitched made a suitable 
ALLIGATOR PAW handle, and the addition of a 
PURSE chamois or velvet lining com- 

pleted a unique souvenir. The killer of a good 
sized 'gator would acquire the material for four 
novel purses besides sufficient leather for more 
than one bag and other small articles like belts 
and match safes. 

These latter articles are often made from 
the dressed skin of snakes also. While not fur- 
rier work by any means it is often difficult to find 
any one to make them up, and the skin dresser 
may capture a few stray dollars in this way. 




COLLARS, CUFFS, AND ODD PIECES 



227 




Alligator leather is quite strong but snake 
skins, unless of some of the very large tropical 
species, will require to be backed with something 
substantial. A stout strip of calf skin is neces- 
sary to make a belt, lighter leather is sufficient 
backing for snake skins, made up as hat-bands, 
match safes, purses, and small bags. 

Dampen the dressed snake skin and then 
cement it to the backing with a cement which 

may be procured 
at leather stores. 
The backing 
should be cut of 
the exact size 
wanted and the 
snake leather 
enough larger to 
be turned well 
over the edge of 
the same all 
around. This 
margin should be wide enough to receive a row of 
stitching, which may be done with an ordinary 
sewing machine in most cases. This leather 
stitching, of course, is on the face of the work and 
should be done with a double thread as a harness 
maker does. 

The match case shown is from a single piece 
of alligator 6% or 7 inches long and 2 wide, 




SNAKE SKIN BELT PURSE 
SECTION OF BELT 



AND 



228 



HOME MANUFACTURE OF FURS 



folded and stitched together. A piece of emery 
paper is glued on the front. Snake skin backed 
with thin leather may be used 
for the same thing, but it should 
be stitched around flap and all. 
The belt purse is made in 
much the same way, of one piece 
4 inches wide and 5 or 6 long. 
The belt is run through loops 
in the back and the flap fast- 
ened with a button or glove 
fastener. It is used for car 
tickets, cards, matches, etc. Of 
n' r J n y f-t~hfr\ course these sizes can be varied 
if^i^q^JTf^jjjj^ to suit the case. Snake skins 
work up to the best advantage 
in such things as these on ac- 
count of their 
/^ shape. 

The other small 
article shown is a 
tobacco pouch 
which is of buck- 
skin or something 
similar. The two 
side pieces about 6 
inches long and a 
strip 7 inches long 
and 1% wide is cut 
BUCKSKIN POUCH iuto fringe. This 




MATCH HOLDER 
Alligator Leather 




COLLARS, CUFFS, AND ODD PIECES 229 

is sewed in when the other pieces are sewed to- 
gether inside out. Turn it right side out and 
run a thong through the slits at the top and it is 
finished unless you wish to try your hand at bead 
work, or embroidery on the sides. 

It has been said that no white man or woman 
either can make a good buckskin shirt, and per- 
haps it is so; we don't see many of them worn 
nowadays. However, if any one wants to try it 
here is the device of a man who has made and 
worn 

BUCKSKIN SHIETS, A. F. WALLACE 

Here again, for a pattern it is best to take 
a comfortable fitting shirt, rip it apart, dampen 
it and press flat, then cut out your pattern. As 
for the gloves, sew inside out, and turn, but be 
very careful and have plenty of room across the 
shoulders and chest. It seems that a buckskin 
shirt needs more room here than any other kind. 
If you want the fringe, then cut a piece about 
two and a half or three inches wide, cut the 
fringe one and a half or two inches deep, and sew 
into the shoulder seam down to the wrist. Use 
a three cornered needle or a "buckskin needle," 
so called for this work, and the linen carpet 
thread. 

With a knit jacket and the above shirt, you 
can stand some cold. Do not have it open in 



230 HOME MANUFACTURE OF FURS 

front, like a common shirt, but leave one shoulder 
seam open from the neck to the top of the shoul- 
der, and have it button or lace. 

Buckskin if properly smoked, can be washed 
in tepid soapsuds, and dry soft. If not, rub soft 
and smoke as before directed. 

Perhaps 3^ou are not aware of the fact that 
a good buckskin shirt brings from eight to ten 
dollars, and are scarce at that. You will need 
two large hides, or three small ones for the aver- 
age man. 

Vests are made of buckskin and sometimes 
of calf and colt with the hair on. These are 
mostly used for riding in cold weather and 
should be high cut to protect the chest. They 
are patterned after and lined much as cloth vests 
are. About the only place where the riding 
leggins or "chaps" of bear, deer or angora skin 
are seen now is at the Wild West shows. 

Fur lined sleeping bags may be made from 
very cheap furs and still be desirable for the out 
door sleeper in cold weather. The outside bag 
should be of heavy canvas made in plain bag 
shape large enough for the user. Get this canvas 
in brown if you can; it will get dirty anyway 
when in use. Make the fur lining the same shape 
and nearly the same size as the outside. In this 
way but little strain comes on the fur, prevent- 



COLLARS, CUFFS, AND ODD PIECES 



231 



ing it from being torn by the movements of the 
occupant. Sew the two bags together well at the 
top and tack the lining to the canvas at the bot- 
tom and sides in several places. This will tend 
to keep it in place, and yet permit it to be re- 
moved for repairs Avithout ripping both bags to 
pieces. 

For the inner bag or lining almost any kind 
of fur may be made use of. Use whole skins if 
you can ; scraps and pieces are just as warm but 
there will be many more seams and seams are the 
weak point in fur construction. Pale and faded 
skins can be worked in these linings without col- 
oring, they are more durable so and as warm as 
any. Cheap 'coon or opossum and the skins of 
short wooled sheep or lambs are suitable for this 
use. 

Any one taking long rides with horse or auto 
in winter will appreciate a 
foot maif'. This resembles a 
foot stool, in the top of 
which the feet can be thrust. 
The bottom and sides of this 
are usually of some stout 
cloth or canvas and the top 
of a short haired skin. In 

FOOT MUFF ^jjg ^Qp |g ^ gll^ ^^ ^j^l^jj jg 

sewed a pocket of some rough fur, large enough 
to contain the feet. Its shape (the muff) should 




232 HOME MANUFACTURE OF FURS 

be round, about 16 inches in diameter and 8 
inches high. 

Make a good roll of fur around the opening 
of the pocket, a binding of raccoon tails is good. 
Fill loosely with fine excelsior, tow or something 
similar before finally sewing up. Put the fur top 
with the foot pocket attached on last and sew the 
cloth sides to it. A mounted half head of fox, 
coon or wild cat in the center of the top will 
add a touch of ornament. 



CHAPTEE XXVII. 

COATS AND CAPES. 

IT would hardly be advisable to begin fur 
working by the construction of a coat unless 
perhaps in an emergency as a defense 
against the cold. It certainly would not be likely 
to be stylish in cut or fit. A man's fur driving or 
work coat could be achieved without much trou- 
ble, using either a paper pattern or better an old 
coat for a guide. Coarse fur or sheepskin coats 
made like the duck clothing so much in use now- 
adays should not prove a serious problem, though 
a lady's fine fur coat should not be undertaken 
unless the operator has a working knowledge of 
tailoring. 

In making up the coarser fur garments, skins 
are used whole, that is, trimmed to rectangular 
shape, so as to preserve the back skin, with the 
irregularities like flanks and flippers eliminated. 
In this way the average muskrat skin will furnish 
a piece of material about 6x8 inches. All skins 
used in a garment should be cut to the same size, 
so unless of approximately the same size to begin 
with, considerable waste will take place. You 
will see in this the advantage of having quite a 

233 



234 HOME MANUFACTURE OF FURS 

stock of skiDS to select from and the correspond- 
ing disadvantage of having to contrive some ar- 
ticle from a small number. Enough in number 
for the purpose, perhaps, but ranging in size 
from small to extra large. 

This would jnean cutting down the largest, 
and probably the best, and piecing out the less 
desirable small skins. For instance, if making a 
short coat that will require forty muskrat skins, 
try to get fifty to select from; this will allow you 
to eliminate some 10 of the extremes in size, the 
largest and smallest. 

When preparing skins to cut for robes or 
garments in this way, sew up all damaged places 
and cuts, dampen and nail. Mark the center line 
of the back, and lay a pasteboard pattern of the 
size fixed on, on the skin to mark around. This 
pattern should be made with a square so as to 
be perfectly even and marked in the center also. 
Now unless there is a large numbr of skins to 
select from it is not likely that they will all 
match in color. 

They will be just as warm but to get them 
the same shade the lighter ones must be touched 
up until all about correspond with those natur- 
ally darkest. With an unlimited number to 
choose from, they can of course be sorted into lots 
of similar size and shades. This is in regard to 
fur garments made in their simplest form, for 



COATS AND CAPES 



235 



the primary purpose of furnishing warmth to the 

wearer. 

The more elaborate fashionable furs are cut 

and pieced by the furriers in a way that is almost 

beyond belief. The most elaborate patterns are 

worked out in fur 
of different shades 
•and lengths. Mink 
skins are ^^drop- 
ped'^ from 18 to 28 
inches in length, 
or the same skin 
may be cut into 
two longitudinal 
strips, each 2 or 
21/2 inches wide, in 
this way produc- 
ing stripes of al- 
ternate long and 
'Short, light and 
dark fur. Muskrat 

.,^„^ ^ ^ are "dropped" in 

"DROPPING" FOX OR OTHER SKINS , , ^ ^ 

M METHOD the same way to 

r e g e m b le mink, 
and furs are frequently cut so as to make the 
stripes conform to the lines of the wearer. It is 
nothing unusual for an examination of the inside 
of a fur garment to show no single piece of skin 
much wider than a man's thumb. These very 




236 



HOME MANUFACTURE OF FURS 



beautiful and unique garments call for a high 
degree of skill in the fur operator and command 
high prices, but they are not designed for nor will 
they withstand hard usage. 

It is customary to make the collars and 
sometimes the cuffs of fur coats of finer fur than 
the balance of the garment, or of the same variety 
with the long hairs removed or plucked. 




SECTION OF RACCOON SKIN ^'DROPPED" OR "LET OUT" 

IN LENGTH 



In making fur lined coats, the shell or cloth 
top may be procured from the dealers, ready for 
lining. They will furnish the necessary infor- 
mation as to measurements, and supply samples 
of the cloth, usually kersey or doe skin. In these 
garments the sleeves are frequently lined with 
cloth. Both men's and women's heavy fur coats 
may be lined with either quilted lining or wool 



COATS AND CAPES 237 

cloth like mackinaw. Silk and satin linings are 
suitable for the fine furs, and they should have 
an interlining of wadding to prevent undue wear 
from the seams in the skins. 

FUR LINED COATS FOR LADIES OR MEN REQUIRE : 

Kind No. Skins 

Mink 50-55 

Skunk 45-50 

Beaver 9-10 

Muskrat About 50 

Horse or Cow 1 

Calf or Colt 6-7 

MEN^S AND ladies' LONG COATS 

48 TO 52 inches long 
Kind No. Skins 

Horse or Cow 1 large 

Kip or Pony 2-3 

Calf or Colt 6-8 

Raccoon 22-30 

Wild Cat 15-20 

Skunk or Opossum 25-30 

Fox 20-25 

Coyote 10-12 

Muskrat, Mink 50-70 

SHORT COATS^ (ABOUT 36 INCHES) 

Horse or Cow 1 medium 

Calf or Colt... 5-6 



238 HOME MANUFACTURE OF FURS 

SHORT COATS (ABOUT 36 INCHES) — Continued 
Kind No. Skins 

Raccoon 15-20 

Wildcat 10-12 

Skunk or Opossum .15-20 

Fox 10-12 

Muskrat and Mink 40-50 

Tlie actual number of skins for a coat varies 
greatly on account of the size of the wearer and 
condition and size of skins. 

Not many fur capes are made nowadays, 
though they w^ere once much used by men and 
women both. The coachman's heavy fur cape 
has been replaced by the chaff eur's fur coat. At 
one time many evening wraps were made of fine 
furs with silk and satin linings. These were 
shaped somew^hat at the shoulders, without 
sleeves but with slit openings for the arms, and 
on account of their width, required a compara- 
tively large amount of material to make. 

Accompanying this is the pattern for a fur 
cape. This is in a girPs size but can be enlarged 
to suit. It is composed of two parts for cape, 
four for neck band and four for collar, besides 
the lining, which is practically identical in shape 
and size with the cape. 

The front edges of cape are turned under 
about 1% inches to form a facing and the V 



COATS AND CAPES 



239 



shaped piece dart removed on each side, shape 
it to the shoulders. SIdns should run from top 
to bottom and opossum or muskrat are very suit- 
able to work out the design with. 

Interline cape with wadding basted to the 
skins and use canvas stiffening in neck band and 
collar. These have fur on both sides, and should 




FUR CAPE AND PATTERN 



be sewed up wrong side out, then turned and 
sewed around the neck of cape. The lining is 
added last. 

Remember the furrier cannot make use of the 
tailor's hot iron for pressing goods, removing 
wrinkles and flattening out seams. Of course an 
iron may be used some times, but never hot. 
Dampening and stretching are used instead. 



CHAPTER XXVIII. 

OAPS^ MITTENS AND GLOVES. 

THESE are the small articles most in de- 
mand probably and are not difficult for 
the aspiring fur worker to produce. Two 
styles of cap, the army pattern and tlie visor and 
ear laps and the plain round visorless cap are 
offcenest made up in fur. If other styles are 
wanted take a cloth cap of the desired kind, rip 
it apart and use to cut a set of patterns. Musk- 
rat is used to a great extent for these and is as 
warm as any fur, though any short or medium 
length fur looks well. 

The Army cap has the crown made in two 
pieces as shown in the cut. Of course a skin may 
need some piecing out, but whole skins as far as 
posible should be used, as the more seams the 
more likelihood of rips. After cutting a pattern, 
pin it together and try it on, remembering to 
allow for a lining. The ear laps and visor should 
be of fur on both sides, so there is really eight 
pieces to be cut for the cap. Sew the croAvn 
together first, inside out of course, sew the pieces 
for visor and ear laps in the same way and then 
turn them. 

240 



CAPS, MITTENS AND GLOVES 



241 



Some pieces of either common 8 oz. or stif- 
fening duck should be cut of a size to slip inside 
these when turned, to help keep them in shape. 
Then after the crown is turned they can be sewed 
to it. Turn in the lower edge of crown all around 
so no raw edges will show. 

The crown is put together with the seam 
running fore and aft, from the center of the 
Yisor to the back of cap. Line the cap with some 




THE ARMY CAP PATTERN 



wool material or better with quilted coat lining. 
Cut and sew up the lining in the shape of the 
crown or like a skull cap, and sew it in with the 
edges turned in. If preferred this cap may be 
made up with a band to turn up all around in- 
stead of the visor and ear laps. In doing this 
allowance should be made for the thickness of 
fur on the cap over which the band must go. 

The round or ''pill box'" shape cap has only 
two pieces, the band and crown. The band must 



242 



HOME MANUFACTURE OF FURS 




SECTION 
51 DL 



OF 



oo 



EAR LAPS 

"PILL BOX" CAP PATTERN 



be the proper size to go around the forehead with 
allowance for the lining. 

The crown piece is slightly oval and just 

largp enough in cir- 
cumference to go in- 
side the band. Quilted 
lining is sewed up in 
the same shape, slipped 
up in and sewed in 
place at the lower edge, 
turning in both fur and 
lining. Fur ear tabs 
can be made and turn- 
ed inside this cap. 
Mittens are made in 
a variety of ways, both lined and unlined. 
Woodsmen agree that a good practical way is to 
make them unlined and wear a cloth or knit mit- 
ten or glove inside. This can be removed and 
dried out without trouble. 

Made with the hair or fur inside they are 
quite comfortble for some purposes. Trimmings 
of cattle hides from robes may be utilized for 
such mittens as these and for driving, handling 
wood or fodder and similar odd jobs they are just 
the thing. 

I. They are made of four pieces, one for the 
back, two for palm and one for the thumb. To 
get a mitten pattern lay the hand on a piece of 



CAPS, MITTENS AND GLOVES 



243 




stiff paper and mark around it. Make an al- 
lowance of 1/4 to % inch for seams in cutting out. 

Cut and make one 
^ out of an old piece 

of cloth first. If 
it is about right go 
ahead with the fur 
ones. Sew them 
inside out and 
turn them. It is a 
good idea to make 
the wrists two or 

FOUR PIECE MITTEN PATTERN 'three luches long 

and then turn 
them over, making a fur roll that will fill the coat 
sleeve and exclude cold wind. 



A 




U 













TWO PIECE MITTEN PATTERN 



Something similar is the two piece mitten, 
II, the pattern for which is got by the same 



244 



HOME MANUFACTURE OF FURS 



method. This way the place for the thumb hole 
can be determined. Make the pattern plenty 
large and sew up the mitt wrong side out so all 
seams come on inside when finished. This has 
fewer seams than the preceding A^ariety, but re- 
quires larger pieces of skin to make it. If you 
wish to make these of buckskin, linings may be 
cut the same size from flannel and sewed in the 
seams at the same time. 

Pattern III is a three piece design which 

can be made 
either of b u c k, 
fur with fur in or 
with palm of 
buck and the rest 
fur outside. A 
variation of this 
is IV. Be a little 
careful and make 
a mitten for each 
hand, as it is an 
easy matter to 
get them both cut 
the same. 

The pattern I 
makes up all right with the back (1) and the 
wrist (3) fur side out and palm (2) and thumb 
(4) of buckskin. 

No specific directions can be given for glove 
making. To get a pattern the best plan is to rip 




THREE PIECE MITTEN PATTERN 



CAPS, MITTENS AND GLOVES 



245 



an old pair apart, dampen them and press them 
flat. Use the pieces to mark out by and sew them 
up as for mittens. These patterns as well as 
those for moccasins may be made up in duck or 
other heavy cloth if skins are not to be had. 




ANOTHER FOUR PIECE MITTEN PATTERN 

The number of skins required to make a fur 
cap is : 

Muskrat, medium 4 

Beaver, medium 1 

Kaccoon, large 1 

Mink, medium 4 

Calf .... small 1 or 2 from medium 
One pair of gloves or mittens will require 6 
or 8 large muskrat skins, 1 medium beaver or 1 
medium otter skin. Dog and calf skins will 
make from 1 to 3 pairs of gloves or mittens from 
each skin. When making a horse or cattle hide 
into a robe, there are generaly enough pieces left 
to make a pair of mittens or gloves. 



CHAPTER XXIX. 

MUFFS AND NECKPIECES. 

THIS form of fur wearing is perhaps the 
most universal, and the streets of any 
large city during the colder months will 
furnish examples of such pieces in all skins from 
the velvety mole to the resplendent jaguar and 
lordly bear. Muffs range from the small child's 
size of two meagre rabbit skins to the overgrown 
barrel or melon shape which half hides the robust 
lady of fashion behind its two wolf skins. Neck- 
pieces of fur are subject to similar variations, 
ranging from the simple neck band of single mink 
skin to the elaborate shawl collarette requiring 
twenty skins of the same variety. 

The fashionable shape of muffs is changing 
constantly, one of the oldest shapes being round 
and straight from end to end like a section of 
stove pipe. These are still being made, as are 
also the half round, pillow, rug and melon de- 
signs. 

In making up furs and especially muffs and 
boas or collarettes from small skins a certain 
difficulty is apt to confront the fur worker. One 
skin like the mink, for instance, is not long 

246 



•»^«l. 



MUFFS AND NECKPIECES 



247 



enough to reach around the desired circumfer- 
ence, two would be too long, to add a few inches 
without spoiling the appearance is difficult, 
though when skins slightly dissimilar are joined 
at the edges it only results in a slightly striped 
pattern. 

It seems necessary to lengthen the skins a 

few inches each 
and this is called 
"d ro p p ing'^ or 
^4 e 1 1 i n g out." 
The open skin is 
flattened out and 
marked on the in- 
side with a num- 
ber of M shaped 
marks. These are 
closest together 
in the widest 
part of the skin 
and they all cen- 
ter exactly on the 
dark stripe of the 
a n i m a Ps back. 
After cutting on 
these lines the skin is sewed together again and 
here is where the desired length is gained. 

Whenever a V shaped cut is run into the skin, 
the point of the V is sewn up for a short distance. 





DROPPING FOX SKINS FOR BOA— 
V METHOD 



248 HOME JklANUFACTURE OF FURS 

This of course throws the next piece that much 
further down. If ten cuts were made and the 
points of eacli sewed together % inch a gain of 
nearly 5 inches in length would result. Of course 
this diminishes the width somewhat. When the 
sewing is finished the skin will be full of puckers 
and wrinkles, but they are removed by dampen- 
ing it and nailing out flat, after which the edges 
are trimmed and it is used like a whole skin. In 
this way muskrat are lengthened to resemble 
niinkj and single skins of fox and raccoon are 
given requisite length for use as boas or neck 
scarfs. The finer furs are sometimes treated in 
this way when making coats. 

It is possible to get ready made patterns for 
muffs of various styles which will aid in cutting 
and putting them together. Muff beds ready 
lined and trimmed are sold by dealers and some 
drj goods houses. All the round varieties of 
muffs should, after being sewed up, be dampened 
and nailed wrong side out on a muff block of 
some kind to shape them. These consist of a 
number of pieces of wood fitted together so they 
may stretch the muff to its full size, something 
on the order of a shoe tree. Small single skins 
mounted on ruffled satin muff beds and as flat 
rug muffs need not be blocked. 

By way of ornament heads and tails are used 
on many muffs. When large skins like fox and 



MUFFS AND NECKPIECES 



249 



wolf are used a mounted head on one end of the 
muff and a tail at the other looks suitable. With 
mink which require four to eight skins there may 
be a row of tails across the muff or heads and 
tails both. 




MUFF OF MINK SKIN, SHOWING METHOD OF SEWING 

AND PIECING 



Collarettes and fur neck pieces are greatly 
diversified. Probably the simplest is the animal 
shape, made from a single large coon, fox or coy- 
ote skin. To get the proper length and width for 
this the skin should be "dropped" as before de- 
scribed, trimmed straight on the sides, the front 
legs cut off and the holes in the skin sewed up. 
After the head is mounted the skin may be sewed 



250 HOME MANUFACTURE OF FURS 

together wrong side out, nearly to the head and 
then turned. 

The scarf may now be filled with a strip of 
wadding or not as you wish, and the front legs 
sewed in slits just back of the head. The opening 
remaining at the throat of the skin must be 
cauglit together with a few stitched on the fur 
side and the opening at the rump is closed the 
same way. 

For doing this and sewing up the leg skins, 
use the ball cover stitch entering the needle in 
the flesh side of the skin, and really lacing up the 
opening. This stitch should ahvays be used when 
it is necessary to sew furs from the outside, as it 
is the least likely to draAv in the fur. A metal 
liook and chain or chocheted loop and olive for 
fastening will complete the piece. This is not 
shaped but is designed to be wound around the 
neck. Two skins may be used in a similar way 
only joining them at the necks and not mounting 
the heads. The hind paws and both tails hang 
down in front. 

The above may be called neck furs straight, 
fur on both sides, others are straight, with the 
fur on one side only. Shaped collarettes may 
also be either fur on both sides or one only. Sat- 
ins either plain or brocaded are used for linings. 

For the shaped collarettes the pattern com- 
panies furnish suitable paper patterns, and the 



MUFFS AND NECKPIECES 251 

skins cut according to these are first sewed, then 
nailed out, trimmed and finally sewed up in the 
complete shape. The dissection of a few old fur 
pieces will give a better understanding of their 
manufacture than mere words can, and a short 
time spent in a fur shop would be better still. 

Work out some sample patterns at first or 
better still, copy some piece of fur. Do not at- 
tempt too much, for many of the more ornate 
designs are the work of long experienced opera- 
tors. 

The number of skins needed to make either 
muff or neck piece varies according to the pat- 
tern. 

MUFF NECKPIECE 

Skunk 4 to 8 skins 1 to 8 skins 

Raccoon 1 to 3 skins 1 to 4 skins 

Opossum 4 to 8 skins 1 to 4 skins 

Muskrat 4 to 8 skins 2 to 12 skins 

Mink or Marten 4 to 8 skins 1 to 12 skins 

Wild Cat or Lynx .... 1 to 2 skins 1 to 4 skins 

Fox 1 to 2 skins 1 to 4 skins 

Coyote 1 to 2 skins 1 to 2 skins 

Beaver or Otter 1 to 2 skins 1 to 3 skins 

CHILDREN'S SETS 

Rabbit or Muskrat. . .2 to 4 skins 2 skins 

Muff Beds, made up and filled with down, 
from 28 to 32 inches in circumference and 16 to 



252 HOME MANUFACTURE OF FURS 

20 inches in length are sold ready made, either 
with or without the silk lining and trimming. In 
making a circular muff the skins go around it 
and if not 28 inches in length they must be made 
so by the dropping process, or perhaps they are 
small enough so two of them joined together are 
30 or 32 inches long. The advantage of having a 
few of these muff beds on hand will be readily 
apparent. They cost at wholesale |1.50 to |12.00 
per dozen, and may be had in any desired shape. 

In the process of finishing these, or other 
pieces of fur, the linings of silk or satin are care- 
fully sewed to the skins, always turning all raw 
edges under. Silk thread and small needles are 
used in this stitching, which a woman's hands 
seem most fitted for. In fact, ^'fur finishing" is 
a business in itself which is almost entirely in 
the hands of women and girls. 

In case it is not possible to procure a made 
up muff bed, muffs may be made up by the sketch 
herewith, using lining and wadding only. A muff 
this size requires two gray fox or raccoon or four 
muskrat skins. Sew the skins together in the 
flat to the proper size 16x20 inches, running 
round the muff. They will turn over at the ends 
better if four short gores are taken out of each 
side. Sew the end of the skins together and turn 
fur side out. Put wadding inside the skins one 
or more layers. 



MUFFS AND NECKPIECES 



253 



After the lining is sewed up, turn over and 
sew up at each end to form a easing for an elastic 
cord. Gather both ends on this cord, insert the 
lining and after turning the edge of skins under, 
sew the lining to them, taking care that the lining 
is gathered evenly at the ends. 



l(o" 



13' 



SKINS 



20" 



LINING 



IG" 




MUFF AND PATTERN 



The beds ready made and trimmed are much 
easier to use, as they have the wadding and lining 
all adjusted, requiring only the addition of the 



fur coverings. 



CHAPTEE XXX. 

MOCCASINS AND PACS. 

BOTH the manufacture and name of these 
foot coverings were adopted from the 
American Indians b^^ the early white set- 
tlers. A writer describing tJie dress on the front- 
ier in the pre-Eevolutionary time says: 

"A pair of moccasins answered for the feet 
much better than shoes. These were made of 
dressed deer skin. They were mostly made of a 
single piece with a gathering seam along the top 
of the foot, and another from the bottom of the 
heel, without gathers, as high as the ankle joint 
or a little higher. Flaps were left on each side to 
reach some distance up the legs. These were 
nicely adapted to the ankles and the lower part 
of the leg, by thongs of deer skin, so that no dust, 
gravel or snow could get within the moccasin. 

The moccasins in ordinary use cost but a few 
hours' labor to make them. This was done by an 
instrument denominated a moccasin awl, which 
was made of the back spring of an old clasp knife. 
This awl with its buck-horn handle, was an ap- 
pendage of ever^^ shot pouch strap, together with 
a roll of buckskin for mending the moccasins. 
This was the labor of almost every evening. They 

254 



MOCCASINS AND PACS 255 

were sewed together and patched with deer skin 
thongs, or whangs as they were commonly called. 

In cold weather the moccasins were well 
stuffed with deer's hair or dry leaves, so as to 
keep the feet comfortably warm; but in wet 
weather it was usually said that wearing them 
was a 'decent way of going barefooted/ and such 
was the fact, owing to the spongy texture of the 
leather of which they were made. Owing to this 
defective covering of the feet, more than to any 
other circumstance, the greater number of our 
hunters were afflicted with the rheumatism in 
their limbs. Our women in early times went 
barefooted in warm weather, and in cold their 
feet were covered Avith moccasins or shoepack 
which would make but a sorry picture beside the 
slippers which at present ornament the feet of 
their great granddaughters.^' 

George Catlin, the painter, on one of his trips 
up the Missouri, was forced by low water to leave 
the steamboat and set out on foot for the mouth 
of the Teton Eiver, 200 miles away, with a num- 
ber of half breeds and trappers. He says : "On this 
march we were all traveling in moccasins, which 
being made without any soles, according to In- 
dian custom, had but little support for the foot 
underneath, and consequently soon subjected us 
to excruciating pain whilst Avalking according to 
the civilized mode with toes turned out. From 



256 HOME MANUFACTURE OF FURS 

this very painful experience I learned that man 
in a state of nature Avho walks on his naked feet 
must walk with his toes turned in, that each may 
perform the duties assigned to it in proportion 
to its size and strength, and that civilized man 
can walk with his toes turned out if he choose 
with a stiif sole under his feet, and Avill be con- 
tent at last to put up with an acquired deformity 
of the big toe joint, which too many know to be a 
frequent and painful occurrence." 

The comfort and utility of moccasins for 
certain purposes is unquestioned, and they are 
sold more or less the country over in a variety of 
makes and patterns. They seem specially 
adapted to wear indoors, around camp and when 
canoeing. As originally made there were almost 
as many patterns as tribes, the variations being 
made chiefly to fit ' local conditions. ExiJt.'rt 
traih^rs were in this way often enabled to fix the 
identiy of unseen passers by. 

The heavy oil-tanned shoe pac is used chiefly 
in the North by woodsmen for wear over heavy 
knit socks in very cold weather. When kept well 
oiled it is to some extent water repelling, but 
that is not essential as very little snow melts on 
the feet there in winter. They are more durable 
than rubber, resisting snags, etc., better, and are 
sold by the regular shoe trade and sporting 
goods dealers. 



MOCCASINS AND PACS 257 

If you have some good buckskin (or other 
skin dressed in that way) it is not very difficult 
to make it up as moccasins ; they will come handy 
to loaf around the house in or wear in a canoe, 
and probably you would have no trouble to give 
away a few pairs in ladies' sizes. If some of the 
old style wooden shoe lasts are to be had it is not 
much trouble to cut suitable patterns, but they 
can be made without, by a little experimenting. 
The Chippewa and Sioux are two typical 
styles. The Eastern or Algonquin Indian mocca- 
sins resemble the Chippewa, while the Sioux re- 
present the Plains tribes. 

The Chippewa is composed of three pieces, 

the sole and sides 
in one piece, the 
vamp a second and 
ankle or leg a 
third. This last 
was often made of 
heavy cloth. In 

CHIPPEWA MOCCASIN PATTERN ^ e w 1 u g in the 

vamp gather the 
sides slightly and if the leather is not too heavy 
make the seams inside. Sew the edges of the end 
(a) and (b) togther and turn the flap (c) up 
over the seam on the outside to make the heel. 
Sew the tops on and dampen the whole moccasin. 
Keep stretched in the proper shape while drying. 




258 



HOME MANUFACTURE OF FURS 



The ortliodox way to shape a new pair of mocca- 
sins is to wet them well then jjut them on and 
walk in them until dry. 

The Plains style is quite different, consisting 
of three pieces also, but one, the sole, is of raw 
iiide or something similar. The piece of heavy 
hide forming this is cut to the shape of the bot- 
tom of the foot, and in several pairs of the Indian 
made article at hand, toeing in considerably. A 
suitable j)iece of soft leather for the upper is cut 

as shown herewith. This 
is sewn to the upper edge 
of the sole on the inside. 
A plain seam up the heel 
and the small piece X 
sewed in for a tongue, 
completes the sewing, and 
the moccasin may be 
turned right side out. It 
should be gathered slight- 
the sole 




together 



SIOUX OR 
CASIN 



PLAINS MOC- 
PATTERN 



ly in stitching 
and upper 
around the toe; these 
gathers disappear on 
dampening and stretching. 
Both these patterns of moccasins are fast- 
ened by leather thongs run through a series of 
slits at the ankle. The Indian made article was 
frequently decorated on the vamps with beads, 



MOCCASINS AND PACS 



259 



shells and colored porcupine quills. Sometimes 
the entire upper except around the ankle was a 
solid mass of bead designs. In some cases a piece 
of cloth was sewn to the leather to furnish a 
ground for bead work. Bright embroidery silks 
look very nice on well dressed skins, and are used 
on most of the fancy moccasins sold at stores. 

While there would be but little money in 
making these things for actual use they are in 
demand as souvenirs and can, especially the 
smaller sizes, be made up out of scraps of no 
value for other purposes. Sometimes too, a hun- 
ter may kill a deer and wish to remember a num- 
ber of friends with little presents after having 
the head and horns mounted. The feet ma^^ be 
set up in four ornamental novelties and the hide 

would furnish certainly 
four assorted pairs of moc- 
casins. 

The moccasin pattern 
here shown is made and sold 
by A. F. Wallace, and it's a 
good one. It is not neces- 
sary to always have buck- 
skin for mocks. Good ten 
or twelve oz. duck will Avear 
Avell, and for night or bed 
slippers, the so called cham- 
ois skins of a sheep's back, do very well. No one 




HEEL SEV<N 
OP 



THE "WALLACE" MOC 
CASIN PATTERN 



260 HOME MANUFACTURE OF FURS 

can appreciate moccasins until they have worn 
them. If you rub your duck with paraffin wax, 
then iron it with a warm flatiron, it will be water 
proof, and the wear will surprise you. Of course 
buckskin is the proper thing, but sometimes it is 
on a buck's back, traveling through the timber. 

If you are using mocks in snow, your wool 
socks will curl down over the top edge, forming 
the finest kind of a snow excluder. So don't 
worry about high moccasins, for snowshoeing or 
skiing. 

When first wearing them, anything you step 
on will hurt your feet. If you sew an extra thick- 
ness on the bottom for a tap, letting it come well 
up on the sides, you will do away with this trou- 
ble. Thej^ are a good deal like "cracker jack," 
the more you eat, the more you want, or the more 
you wear mocks, the more you will. 



CHAPTER XXXI. 

UTILIZING FUR WASTE. 

DURING the manufacture of furs there is 
necessarily much unavoidable waste in 
the form of small pieces, clippings and 
roundings as well as skins damaged and partially 
destroyed through improper treatment. All 
these are not allowed to become a total loss but 
are carefuly saved and sold to the dealers in 
fur cuttings after sorting into their several 
varieties. 

Many of these scraps are bought by dealers 
in hatter's furs. The best hatter's fur is cut from 
the whole skin, is plucked to remove the guard 
liairs and chemically treated to facilitate felting. 
The hatter's fur obtained from fur cutter's waste 
is known as blown fur. The cuttings are run 
through a chopping machine and cut into small 
pieces and afterwards blown to separate the fur 
from the overhairs and pieces of skin. Blown fur 
is much shorter and less desirable than that cut 
or clipped from the skins. 

Muskrat, fur seal, otter, beaver and mink are 
all used in this way. Some years ago the prices 
for cuttings ran about as follows: 

261 



262 HOME MANUFACTURE OF FURS 

Mink, Fur Seal 15c per lb. 

Muskrat 35c to 40c per lb. 

Otter 45c per lb. 

Beaver fl.OO to |1.25 per lb. 

Many pieces and cuttings are used in other 
ways. Scraps of fur seal and muskrat are pieced 
together, dyed a uniform shade and made up in 
cheap furs. These are genuine furs but the many 
seams and the application of dye to the threads 
after sewing makes them very short-lived. I have 
seen a large robe composed entirely of muskrat 
clippings, set together with light and dark fur 
alternating. This was in the natural undyed 
state. 

A mink robe, said by the owner to be fifty 
years old was brought in for repairs. The thread 
was giving way and the far was considerably 
faded, but otherwise its condition was good, 
though made of scraps. 

Such trimmings are sometimes made into 
linings where an even color is not necessary, 
warmth being the chief requisite. Small fur 
heads used in trimming are chiefly made from 
scraps, as are the fur covered buttons. Brush 
makers use parts of some skins in the production 
of artist's pencils. 



CHAPTEE XXXII. 

CLEANING^ REPAIRING AND STORING FURS. 

THIS branch of the fur business, while not 
cutting much of a figure, will frequently 
prove the source of a small but steady in- 
come. As long as furs continue to be worn they 
will require to be cleaned and repaired, and 
people are coming more and more accustomed 
to having their furs stored and cared for during 
the warmer months of the year. 

Professional cleaners claim that fur cleanino: 
is one of the most risky branches of their busi- 
ness, as such articles cannot be treated like or- 
dinary textile fabrics, and are often of great 
value. Nearly all furs (that is, manufactured 
skins), should be chemically cleaned, though in 
some cases soap and water can be employed to 
advantage. 

In chemical cleaning or washing in gasoline, 
such cleaning is based upon the solvent power for 
grease which it possesses. Most discolorations 
of garments, both textile and fur, consist of dirt 
held by grease of various kinds collected during 
the wearing. By removing the grease the dirt is 
released and the stains disappear. 

263 



264 HOME MANUFACTURE OF FURS 

Gasoline vaporizes at ordinary temperatures, 
and such vapor is not absorbed by the atmosphere 
but seeks the floor level, where it will flow in the 
directions of any air currents which may be pres- 
ent. If this stream of vapor should come in con- 
tact with a flame in another room even, it would 
produce an immediate explosion and carry the 
fire back to the bulk of the cleaner being used. 
This mixture of gasoline, vapor and air is what, 
by ignition in the c^dinders of the automobile 
engine, furnishes such dynamic power. Cleaning 
with gasoline in the ordinary dwelling is a dan- 
gerous proceeding and should be conducted with 
care anywhere. 

So called spontaneous firing sometimes oc- 
curs, due to the generation of electric sparks» 
The rubbing or moving quickly of various mate- 
rials in this volatile liquid may produce electric 
sparks, especially in frosty weather and when the 
air is dry. The addition of benzine soap in small 
quantities tends to prevent such sparking, and it 
also aids in the cleaning process. 

All furs to be cleaned should be examined to 
ascertain if they are torn or ripped, or if any 
matches have gotten into them. Large, coarse 
skins used as rugs should have the heavy linings 
ripped out before cleaning, as they will soak up 
and waste much expensive material otherwise. 
Such skins like bear, tiger, leopard, sheep, goat 




TWENTY-TWO RAW SILVER FOX SKINS VALUE THOUS- 
ANDS OF DOLLARS 

(Photo from "Fur Buyer's Guide"— see page 286.) 
265 



266 HOME MANUFACTURE OF FURS 

and dog, after being freed of lining are to be 
washed in gasoline, wrung out, rinsed in clean, 
wrung out and drummed with sawdust or 
meal until the fur is dry. Then hang in the open 
air or sun if possible to evaporate the fumes, beat 
well and after replacing the linings, comb out. 
If the rug has a full mounted head it, the head, 
should not be immersed in gasoline but cleaned 
with a brush. All furs should be absolutely dry 
and freed from all dust by thoroughly beating 
before cleaning. 

In cleaning white furs especially, benzine 
soap is useful, though if it cannot be procured 
ready made from chemical dealers it may be dis- 
pensed with, as it is hardly worth while to make 
it unless a considerable work of this character 
is contemplated. 

A solid benzine soap is made by putting 
about 8V3 lbs. of white olein in an enameled ket- 
tle and while stirring pour in gradually one 
pound of 25% ammonia. Stir for three-fourths 
of an hour until it becomes hard. To use mix a 
small amount into paste with benzine and brush 
on the object to be cleaned. A little is added to 
the washing gasoline also. 

White furs, muffs, collarettes, etc., are 
washed without removing the linings either with 
or without soap, brushed and rinsed twice, wring- 
ing after each rinse. Then work or drum in 



CLEANING, REPAIRING AND STORING 267 

warm starch powder, potato or farina flour or 
talcum powder. Powdered gypsum leaves a 
gritty feeling in the fur and should not be used 
on fine furs. After cleaned furs are quite dry 
they should be entirely freed from any cleaning 
powder by beating, brushing and combing before 
wrapping up. Of course curly furs like angora 
and astrachan should never be combed. 

In regard to repairing furs it may be truth- 
fully said that "a stitch in time saves nine," and 
nothing spoils the appearance of a fine piece of 
fur more than a neglected rip or tear. Be sure 
and give all work of this class thorough inspec- 
tion, as furs are often in a condition which the 
o^^uer does not suspect. What appears to be 
whole skins may in reality be composed of small 
pieces, or many rips and tears be hidden by a 
heavy pelage. 

All skin sewing should be done from the 
back, so the ripping and resewing of linings 
should be calculated on. To repair garments by 
replacing worn parts with new skins is difficult 
to do properly. Sometimes it becomes necessary 
to cut it down, that is, shorten a coat or shorten 
or narrow a collarette slightly, and use the best 
of what is trimmed off to repair worn places. 
Rugs and laprobes that are in use require to 
have their linings and borders renewed occasion- 
ally to prolong their usefulness. Collarette 



268 HOME MANUFACTURE OF FURS 

chains, hooks and muff guards are lost, broken 
and altogether minor repairs aggregate quite an 
item. Collars and cuffs of new fur will go far 
toward freshening up an old coat. 

For storing quantities of furs, cold storage 
space is best, but an ordinary room may be made 
use of, if it is dry, cool and not too light. All 
furs received for storage should have tags written 
in ink sealed on in the owner's presence, and 
have a valuation set on them at the same time so 
they may be insured. The condition, any dam- 
age or need of repair should be noted on the stor- 
age tags. Beat the furs out well before hanging 
away. 

The chief insect enemy of garment furs is 
the larva of several species of moths. The ma- 
ture winged specimens do no damage, but from 
their eggs are hatched the tiny w^hite worms 
which delight in shaving the fur from skins, both 
raw and dressed. The dermestes or "bacon 
beetle" chiefly attacks raw skins and hides but 
the moth is more impartial, browsing alike on 
carpets, hangings, cloth and fur garments. 

Such things cannot have their entire surface 
poisoned as the taxidermist treats mounted spec- 
imens, on account of the danger to those wearing 
or handling them. The moth larva is most de- 
structive in the warm months, from May to Oc- 
tober, but in heated rooms the work may continue 



CLEANING, REPAIRING AND STORING 269 

through the winter months. They are killed by 
immersion in benzine or exposure to the fumes of 
carbon bisulphide. 

The ordinary wall showcases for garments 
answer very ^^'ell for storing a few furs, and ad- 
ditional cases of the same shape may be made of 
tongue and grooved boards with close fitting 
wooden, instead of glass doors. Hang all furs in 
these cases on suitable hangers and leave exposed 
in the bottom of the cases a quantity of naphtha- 
line crystals or pure gum camphor, either of 
which disseminate fumes distasteful to the moth 
family. If the glass front cases are used cover 
the furs with muslin, as a strong continuous light 
tends to fade most dark furs. 

If an entire room is used, equip it with poles 
like curtain poles on which to hook hangers. 
Keep it dark and carry an electric torch when 
visiting it. Make it a rule to require two or 
three days' notice, when furs are withdrawn from 
storage, as they should be beaten, combed and 
well aired before returning. 



CHAPTER XXXIII. 

PRICES FOR TANNING AND OTHER FUR WORK. 

THERE is naturally considerable range in 
the charges for work of this nature, de- 
pendent on the condition of the material, 
etc. This is not always so apparent to the gen- 
eral public as to the skin expert, and often the 
best that can be done is to strike an average that 
will let the good jobs make up for the unprofit- 
able ones. There is, too, always the satisfaction 
of work well done. To the beginner especially, 
the usual charges for skin dressing seem trivial 
compared to the amount of labor expended. With 
practice the work can be finished off much more 
rapidly and the local workman can nearly always 
get an advance on the rates of a professional at a 
distance. A customer is nearly always willing 
to pay the regular rates plus the express charges 
to the nearest large establishment; if the work 
is what it should be. 

The annexed list gives the usual range of 
charges, the lowest figure being for the small 
skins of the kind and in good condition and the 
highest for those not so well handled or the very 
largest in size. 

270 



PRICES FOR TANNING AND FUR WORK 271 




BEATING BEAVER SKINS FOR REMOVING SAWDUST, ETC. 



TANNING PRICES 



.50 to 10.75 
.75 to 1.00 



Badger 

Beaver 

Bears — 

Black 1.00 to 4.00 

Polar 4.00 to 12.00 

Grizzly 2.00 to 6.00 

Cats — 

House .25 



272 HOME MANUFACTURE OF FURS 

Cats — Continued 

Wild 10.50 to 11.00 

Ringtail 25 

Cow 5.00 to 8.00 

Calf 1.00 to 3.00 

Deer 1.00 to 2.50 

Fawn 50 to 1.00 

Dogs 50 to 3.00 

Elk 3.00 to 5.00 

Fisher 75 to 1.00 

Foxes — 

Gray 50 to .75 

Red 50 to .75 

Kit .25 to .50 

White 75 to 1.00 

Silver 1.00 to 1.50 

Goats — 

Common 1:00 to 2.00 

Angora 1.50 to 2.50 

Hare 15 

Horse 5.00 to 8.00 

Jaguar 1.00 to 3.00 

Leopard 1.00 to 2.50 

Lion 3.00 to 6.00 

Lynx 75 to 1.00 

Marten 25 to .50 

Mink 25 to .50 

Moose , 3.00 to 6.00 

Mole 10 



PKICES FOR TANNING AND FUR WORK 273 

Muskrat fO.lO to |0.25 

Opossum 10 to -25 

Qtter 75 to 1.00 

Puma ;'.;*.;;*. i-oo to 3.00 

Rabbit 10 to .Id 

Raccoon .35 to .75 

Seal — 

Hair 1.00 

Wool 100 

Sheep 1-00 to 

Lambs 50 to 1.50 

Skunk ■ 35 to .50 

Civet Skunk 

Squirrels 

rpioer 3-00 to 8.00 

A^'easels ., 10 

Wolves — 

Timber 1-00 to 1.25 

Coyotes . . '^S to 

Wolverine 1-00 

Woodcliuck 25 



.25 
.25 



2.50 



1.00 



TANNING LEATHER. 

Cow and Horse, for glove leather 5.00 to 8.00 

Deer, Sheep, Goat, for buckskin. 1.00 to 1.50 
Alligator — 

To 3 ft. in length 1-00 

3 to 4 ft. in length 1.50 to 2.00 

4 to 5 ft. in length 2.00 to 3.00 



274 HOME MANUFACTURE OF FURS 

Alligator — Continued 

5 to 7 ft. in length |3.00 to |5.00 

Snake — 

Under 4 ft 50 to 1.00 

4 to 7 ft 1.25 to 2.50 

Over 7 ft 3.00 to 10.00 

DYEING (black OR BROWN) 

Cattle and Horse 2 . 50 

Goat 75 to 2.50 

Coyote 1.00 

Mink .35 

Marten 35 

Fox ,.. 1.00 

Muskrat 25 

Sheep .. .75 to 1.50 

Dog .75 to 1.50 

Calf 75 to 1.50 

Wolf 1.50 

Skunk 50 

Opossum 35 

Lynx 1 . 50 

Kaccoon 50 to .75 

Wild Cat 1.00 

House Cat .50 

MISCELLANEOUS 

Fur Purses, small 25 to .50 

Fur Hand Bags, small 75 to 1.50 



PRICES FOR TANNING AND FUR WORK 275 

MISCELLANEOUS — CONTINUED 

Snake Hand Bags fl.OO to |2.50 

Snake Purses or Matcliholders . . .50 to 1.00 
Buckskin, Calf or Fawn Vests. . . 4.00 

Moccasins', plain, per pair 1 . 00 

Snake Belts 2.50 

Snake Hat Bands 1.00 

Plain Mittens from horse, cow, 

calf or dog skins, per pair . . 1 . 00 

Gauntlet Mittens from same 1.50 

Leather Mittens 50 

Gauntlet Mittens, coon or musk- 
rat ....• 3.50 

Gauntlet Gloves, coon or muskrat 4.50 
Gauntlet Gloves from horse, cow, 

calf or dog skins 2 .25 

Fur Caps, according to material, 
from horse, or cow hide to 
muskrat at |4.00 and mink . . 6 . 00 
Ladies' Auto Hoods and Soft 

Hats, according to material. 5.00 to 12.00 
Fur Collars 2.50 to 3.50 

FUR COATS. 

On these the charges will run from say |8.00 
on a man's coat of cow hide to |200.00 for a lady's 
long mink coat. Ladies' short coats in the 
coarser furs are made up for |12.00 to |15.00 each 
which is about what is charged for men's in rac- 



276 HOME MANUFACTURE OF FURS 

coon or wild cat furs. At these figures the lin- 
ings,etc., are furnished, but the cost of tanning 
must be added. 

Making fur lined coats costs from |20.00 to 
|40.00 each in coarse hides, like co\y or horse, 
and 1100.00 to |150.00 in skins like mink, ac- 
cording to the grade of material used in the cover. 
These figures are in addition to the tanning. 

In the matter of muffs and neckpieces there 
is the greatest variation, owing to the different 
patterns and the varying number of skins re- 
quired. With the dressing charges included, 
muffs cost from $2.50 to $3.00 for children's to 
$5.00, $10.00 and even $25.00 for lady's sizes. 
The extreme prices are of course for work requir- 
ing a number of fine skins like mink or marten. 

On neckpieces the range is as great, from the 
plain lined neck band made from one small skin 
for $2.00 to the mink or marten shawl of a dozen 
skins or over, for the construction of which $35.00 
will hardly -paj. Sets of fox or raccoon in com- 
mon shapes usually cost about $15.00 for making 
both neckpiece and muff. 

FUR ROBES. 

This is an article the cost of making can be 
closely estimated, any variation being due to ex- 
tra size or quality of linings. They are ordinarily 
made with a single felt border and black or green 



PRICES FOR TANNING AND FUR WORK 



277 



plush lining, and these prices are based on such 
material, not including the tanning charges. 

Horse or Cow Skin }5.00 

Calf, Dog, Goat or Sheep 5.00 to |6.00 

Fox, Coon, Wild Cat 9.00 to 10.00 

Wolf, Coyote 8.50 

Muskrat 15.00 to 20.00 




WILD CAT RUG, OPEN MOUTH 
ANIMAL FUR RUGS. 

The prices given are for lining all rugs not 
larger than a fox with all felt and trimming with 
a double border of same. Large skins to have 
the double felt border but lined with art denim 
or canvas. 



278 HOME MANUFACTURE OF FURS 

Eugs wanted with open mouths must have 
the natural teeth with them, or an extra charge 
must be made. 

CLOSED OPEN 

NAME MOUTH MOUTH 

Fox, raccoon, badger, wild cat, 

house cat |4.50 |5.50 

Lynx, coyote, wolverine 5.00 6 , 00 

Timber wolf 6.00 7.00 

Dogs, according to size 4.00-10.00 5.00-15.00 

Puma, jaguar, leopard 10.00 12.00 

Bear, brown or black 12.00 15.00 

Bear, polar or grizzly 16 . 00 20 . 00 

Tiger, lion 20.00 25.00 

Deer 10 . 00 

Goat 8.00 

For cleaning furs, such as a muff or neck- 
piece of white fox, the charge is |1.00 for a single 
piece or 11.50 for the set. Other cleaning is 
charged for according to the amount of material 
and labor necessary. To clean a polar bear rug 
is well worth the |5.00 to |8.00 usually asked. 
Storage charges depend considerably on the value 
of the furs charged, and are so much per month, 
with a minimum charge of 25 or 50 cents. 

Repairs and orders for new work sent in 
during the dull season are usually figured at a 
much lower rate than when left until the last 
moment, before they are wanted. 



CHAPTER XXXIV. 

APPENDIX. 

THE variety of tools and materials men- 
tioned as being useful or indispensable to 
the home manufacturer of furs makes a 
list that is bewildering to the beginner perhaps. 
Well all of them are not needed at once, fortun- 
ately. 

^'Where can I get them?" some one say;?. 
There are dealers in furrier's supplies who handle 
nearly all except the chemical supplies for fur 
dressing, but many of the necessaries are to be 
had near home as readily if we look for them in , 
the right place. The grocery store will furnish 
soaps, lye or potash, borax, salt and often quite 
a list of other things, depending on the proprie- 
tor's ideas of Avhat a grocery should be. Water 
is to be had most anywhere, but not alw^ays the 
best water for the purpose. On the subject of 
water, soap, etc., a practical man says: 

^^Two very important things, and I might 
say the most important of all, are the soap and 
water used in the processes here mentioned. If 
yon wish to make a good job, the water must he 
softy i. e., 'either rain or soft river water.' Be 

279 



280 



HOME MANUFACTURE OF FURS 



sure spring water is soft if you use it. Kain 
water is best of all. A simple test for the hard- 
ness of the water is soap, the common cheap bar 
kind. Take a piece and a dish of cold water, 
Avash your hands in it, using plenty of the above 
soap; if it curdles, it is unfit for use in tanning 
(or anything else) although it can be used for 
drinking and cooking purposes. Neither in such 
water can you cure meat for smoking. 

As before mentioned, the soap comes next 

in importance, and the 
best of all is the old- 
fashioned soft soap, 
made by the old-time 
farmers, by setting up a 
barrel or leach with a 
little coarse straw in the 
bottom through which a 
half dozen one inch holes 
have been bored. Then 
fill with good hardwood 
ashes, set up on a tight 



1 




bench 



eighteen 



inches 



BARREL OR ASH LEACH 



high, in which a groove 



has been cut about one- 
half inch deep, around the bottom of the barrel 
where it rests on the platform, and leaking into 
the spot where you wish to catch the leakings 
from the barrel. Soft water poured into the top 



APPENDIX 281 

of the barrel, into a pan shaped hole in the ashes, 
will in a few hours produce the best kind of lye 
for 3'Our soap. 

Take a twelve quart pail full of lye, bring 
to a boil and add grease enough in the shape of 
ham or bacon rinds, bones and any old grease 
(animal, not mineral) until the mixture is the 
consistency of jelly when cold. More soap can 
be made by using more of the material in propor- 
tion ; if too thin bring up to a boil, and add more 
grease, and if too thick add more lye; let it boil 
two hours, stirring constantly, before taking 
sample to cool. 

This is the best soap ever except for wounds. 
Assuming you haven't a leach or ashes for mak- 
ing the lye, then use the following: To ten 
pounds of grease take eight and a half pounds of 
pure white potash, (buy the latter in fine lumps) 
place the potash in the bottom of a good strong 
water-tight barrel, boil the grease and pour it 
hoiling hot on the potash, then add one pail of 
boiling water and stir all together. The next 
morning, add one pail cold water and stir one- 
half hour. Continue this until the barrel con- 
tains eighteen gallons. Let stand one week and 
it is ready for use. The potash can be added to 
the grease or vice versa, but each must be done 
while boiling. By adding another one-half pound 
resin, you have the old-fashioned soap, and it can 



282 HOME MANUFACTURE 01^ FURS 

be run into cakes. But for tanning, leave the 
resin out. 

While we are around bothering the grocer, 
we might as well get some wooden lard tubs and 
a vinegar barrel or so for tan vats, and if he has 
some empty boxes a few of them will be useful 
to make fur stretchers, cleaning drums and trays 
of. Corn meal and bran for cleaning and tan- 
ning come from the feed store and gasoline from 
grocery, paint store or garage. Quite an assort- 
ment of tools may be selected at almost any 
liardware dealers, though it is not likely that 
special tanners' and dressers' tools can be had 
there. 

Some of the useful chemicals such as sul- 
phate of iron, sulphate of copper, sulphate, bi- 
carbonate and hyposulphate of soda, are to be 
had of dealers in agricultural or veterinary sup- 
plies. In procuring chemicals for tanning at a 
drug house it is well to remember that what is 
known as the commercial quality is as suitable 
for such use as the C. P. or chemically pure, and 
usually much cheaper. Alcohol, lime, calcined or 
plaster of Paris, sandpaper and a number of 
other things can be bought with the most econ- 
omy of the paint dealer. 

Modeling clay is furnished by dealers in ar- 
tist's materials, but the blue or white clay from 
a pottery is just as good, or you may get it from 



APPENDIX 283 

the bank yourself if it is convenient. That pre- 
pared for use has been freed from lumps and grit. 

Any enterprising dry goods house will pro- 
vide a fair assortment of lining material, thread, 
etc., and patterns for muffs, collarettes, caps, 
etc., may be bought there or ordered by mail from 
the pattern companies. Of course the goods most 
suitable or the easiest to use may not be in 
stock, but probably some suitable substitute will 
be at hand which may possibly answer as well or 
better. Colored felts are handled by dealers in 
upholstery, as are the art denims. Heavy coat- 
ing material is often substituted for plush as 
robe lining, and the overall variety of denim 
cannot be beat for wear as lining for large rugs. 
Of late years it has been possible to procure ready 
to use muft beds from some of the large dry goods 
houses, as they are in demand for use in making 
muffs of some of the new ''fur cloths." These 
cloths, such as ''astrachan/' ''pony skin" and 
others, make beautiful robe linings. 

A few items are never found in stock except 
at dealers in taxidermists' and furriers' supplies, 
such as skin worker's tools, fur knives and combs, 
muff blocks, artificial head forms, glass eyes and 
special fur dyes. In the United States, New 
York City and Montreal in British America are 
the headquarters for dealers in furriers' supplies. 



284 HOME MANUFACTURE OF FURS 

Catalogues from anj good dealer will be an 
aid in ordering supplies, and they will generally 
answer an 3^ inquiries in regard to their line of 
goods to the best of their ability. From personal 
dealings we can recommend as follows: 

GENERAL FURRIERS' SUPPLIES. 

Gross, Engel & Co 115 W. 27th St., New York 

S. Z. Chodorov 115 W. 29th St., New York 

A. Jacobson & Bro 160 Fifth Ave., New York 

taxidermist's supplies^ head forms and 
glass eyes. 

James P. Babbitt Taunton, Mass. 

Frank B. AYebster Co Hyde Park, Mass. 

A. E. Colburn, 

806 S. Broadway, Los Angeles, Cal. 

N. W. School of Taxidermy Omaha, Nebr. 

Jonas Brothers. . .1023 Broadway, Denver, Colo. 
Papier Mache Specialties Co. . . .Keading, Mich. 

F. Kaempfer 114 N. State St., Chicago, 111. 

W. C. Kaempfer. . .212 W. Elm St., Chicago, 111. 

robe linings and trimmings. 

A. Hoenigsberger . .12 S. Market St., Chicago, 111. 

dyeing and cleaning preparations for 
furriers' use. 

Gottlieb Chemical Co. 148 W. 24th St., New York 



APPENDIX 285 

GENERAL SUPPLIES. 

M. A. WedeJes & Co., 

105 S. Dearborn St., Chicago, 111. 
Wm. Zoroff & Co., 

219 S. Dearborn St., Chicago, 111. 
Edward Pollak & Co., 

442 St. Paul St., Montreal, Can. 
Nesbit & Ault 207 James St., Montreal, Can. 

SATINS^ LININGS^ ETC. 

Nesbit & Auld. .32 Wellington St., Toronto, Can. 

Have also used material from the mail order 
houses such as Sears, Roebuck & Co., and Mont- 
gomery Ward & Co. The Ursol dyes are dis- 
tributed by the Berlin Aniline Works, with head- 
quarters at 213 Water St., New York, and 
branches in the principal cities. So far as we 
have ascertained Robert Morris, 239 George St., 
San Francisco, Cal., is the only General Furriers' 
Supply dealer on the Pacific Coast. 






FUR BUYERS' GUIDE 

Contains Complete Instructions about Buying, Handling and Grading Furs, Including Size, Color. Quality 
as well as How, Wlien and Wtiere to Sell. 

The chapter headings give a very good idea of this valuable book 
yet to further explain take the chapter on Mink (XIII.) which goes 
into detail as follows: Sizes of Stretching Boards; Shape of Cured 
Skins; Shades of Color and Degrees of Prime- 
ness; Selling at Home; Preparing and Ship- 
ping to Market. Each of the fur animals are 
described much the same as mink. The various 
shades of black, silver and cross fox are de- 
scribed and illustrated as well as the mark- 
ings on skunk shown and eaph of the four 
grades illustrated and fully described. Weasel 
(ermine) are shown in the white stage also 
when turning. Raccoon, muskrat, opossuin, 
red and grey foxes, wolves, otter, beaver, bear, 
badger, marten, lynx, fisher, wild cat, civet 
cat, house |cat are all illustrated and fully ue- 
scribed as well as a chapter on Sheep Pelts, 
Beef Hides, and Deer Skins and another on 
Ginseng and Golden Seal. 

Much attention is given to GRxA.DE, 
COLOR, OUALITY as well as sizes— LARGE, 
MEDIUM, SMALL. . More than 160 illustra- 
tions are used showing raw furs from all 
parts of North America with measurements 
and grade. It also tells WHEN to BUY and WHERE, WHEN and 
HOW to SELL. This information is of much value to all whether a 
trapper who sells a few skins only ot buyer, collector, dealer. 
This valuable book contains Thirty-five chapters as follows: 
I. "Wild" and "Tame" Furs. XXI. Beaver and How to Grade. 

II. Size, Color, Quality. XXII. Bears— Black, Grizzly, Po- 



III. Methods of Grading 

IV. The Inspection Room. 
V. Why Trappers Sell 

Home. 
VI. Buyers and Collectors 
VII. Buying and Selling. 
VIII. Speculation. 
IX. Prices of Long Ago 



lar and How to Grade. 

XXIII. Marten and How to Grade. 

at XXIV. Fisher and How to Grade. 

XXV. Lynx and How to Grade. 

XXVI. Wild Cat or Bay Lynx 

and How to Grade. 

XXVII. Cats— House and Ring 

Tail and How to Grade. 



X. Miscellaneous Information. XXVIIL Badger and How to Grade. 



XL Foxes — Black, Silver, 

Cross, and How to Grade. 

XII. Foxes — Red, Gray, Kitt or 

Swift and How to Grade. 

XIII. Mink and How to Grade. 

XIV. Muiskrat— How to Grade. 
XV. Skunk and How to Grade. 

XVI. Civet Cat — How to Grade. 

XVII. Raccoon and How to Grade. 

XVIII. Opossum — How to Grade. 

XIX. Wolves and Coyotes and 

How to Grade. 



XXIX. Wolverine — How to Grade. 

XXX. White Weasel (ermine) 

and How to Grade. 

XXXI. Sea Otter— How to Grade. 

XXXII. Mountain Lion and How 

to Grade. 

XXXIII. Seals— Fur and Hair— and 
How to Grade. 

XXXIV. Pelts, Hides, Skins and 
How to Grade. 

XXXV. Roots— Ginseng and Gold- 
en Seal — How to Classify. 



XX. Otter and How to Grade. 

If you handle Raw Furs, Hides, Plelts or Roots it will be to your 
advantage (cash in your pocket) to order at once for FUR BUYERS' 
GUIDE contains many valuable suggestions learned from long ex- 
perience, that the "other fellow" may get onto before you so better 
send today. This book weighs nearly 2 pounds, contains 370 pages, 
160 illustrations and cost me thousands of dollars to print. 

Price, postpaid, cloth bound, to any address, $2.00. 

A. R. HARDING, 7S N. Ohio Ave., Columbus. Ohio 



HOME TAXIDERMY •'iSoTonf 

A Guide for those w^ho wish to prepare and mount animals, reptiles, 
etc., for home, den or office decoration. 







THE author, Mr. Albert B. Farnham, in the 
Introduction among other things says: 
"This volume of the Pleasure and Profit 
Library is offered to the hunter, trapper, fisher, 
vacationist and out of door people in general. In 
the study and practice of taxidermy for several 
years I have failed to find any work written pri- 
marily for these every day nature lovers, though 
they probably handle a greater number of inter- 
esting specimens of wild animal life than all other 
classes of people. Thoroughness, patience and 
some love for nature are qualities highly desirable 
in this art. Work prepared by one possessing 
these qualities need not be ashamed and practice 
will bring skill and perfection. 
As a handicraft in which the workman has not been displaced or 
made secondary by a machine taxidermy is noticeable also, and for 
many reasons is v/orthy of its corner in the home work-shop. In this 
work the ladies can take a very effective hand, and numbers have done 
so ; for there is no doubt that a woman's taste and lightness of touch 
enables her in some branches of taxidermy to far excell the average 
man. Especially in the manipulation of frail skins and delicate feath- 
ers, in bird taxidermy is this so." 

This practical book contains 246 pages, 107 illustrations, 31 chap- 
ters, and is by far the best way to learn taxidermy and at a cost 
trifling compared to Correspondence Schools and much less than any 
reliable book on the subject. Read the chapter headings and note how 
thorough the book is: 

I. History of the Art. 
II. Outfit — Tools and Ma- 
terial. 
III. Preservative P r e p a r a- 

tions, Formulas, etc. 
IV. Panels, Shields and Na- 
t u r a 1 and Artificial 
Mounts. 
V. Field Work, Collecting. 
VI. Skinning and Preserving 
Skins. 
VII. Making Scientific Skins. 
VIII. Preparing Skins for 
Mounting. 
IX. Mounting Small and 
Medium Birds. 
X. Mounting Large Birds. 
XI. Tanning, Cl'^'Pning and 
Poisoning Skins. 
XII. Making Animal Fur 
Rugs. 

XIII. Fur Robes and How to 

Make Them. 

XIV. Mounting Entire Small 
Animals. 



XV. Mounting Large Animals 
XVI. Mounting Heads of 
Small Animals, Birds 
and Fish. 
XVII. Mounting Heads of 
Large Game. 
XVIII. Mounting Horns and 
Antlers. 
XIX. Mounting Feet and Hcofs 

XX. Mounting Fish. 
XXI. Mounting Fish — Baum- 
gartel Method. 
XXII. Mountirg Reptiles, Frogs 

and Toads. 
XXIir. Skulls and Skeletons. 
XXIV. Soortsm^n's Trophies. 
XXV. Odds and Ends, Taxi- 
dermy Novelties. 
XXVI. Groups ?nd Grouping. 
XXVII. Animal Anatomy. 
XXVIII. Casting and Modelling. 
XXIX. Market Trophy Hunting. 
XXX. Collecting and Mounting 
for Sale. 
XXXI. Prices fcr Work. 



Taxidermy is a pleasant and profitable business and can be learned 
at home from Fimnly reading and following instruction given in my 
liook — HOME TAXIDERMY FOR PLEASURE AND PROFIT 
This book is lust as reliable and practical as others of Harding's 
Pleasure and Profit Books, for the author knows taxidermy from 
A to Z. ^ 

Price, postpaid, cloth bound, to any address, $1.00. 
A. R. HARDING 75 N. Ohio Ave. COLUMBUS. O. 




-->^v-. 



i*. 



^It'z 




HARDING'S 

PLEASURE PAAITC 

& PROFIT DUUIia 

Science of Trapping, 245 pages $ .60 

Fur Farming, 278 pages 60 

Hunting Dog», 253 pages.. 60 

Ferret Fact* and Fancies, 214 pp 60 

Fox Trapping, 185 pages .60 

Mink Trapping, 188 pages 60 

Deadfalii and Snarei, 232 pages .... .60 
Wolf and Coyote Trapping, 252 pp.. .60 

Steel Trapj, 333 pages .60 

Land Cruising & Prospecting, 176 pp .60 

Camp and Trail Methods, 274 pp 60 

Science of Fishing, 245 pages 60 

Canadian Wilds, 277 pages 60 

A Trip on the Great Lakes, 212 pp.. .60 
Cinseng and Other Medicinal Plants 

367 pages 1.00 

Fifty Years a Hunter and Trapper 

318 pages 1.00 

The Cabin Boat Primer, 276 pages 1.00 
3001 Questions and Answers, 3 95 pp 1.00 

These books have been written by 
those who from long experience know 
the Forest, Field and Stretun. Books 
are well printed, cloth bound and all 
Illustrated excepting Canadian Wilds. 

Prices. If two or more books are 
ordered together there is a reduction 
of ten cents on 60 cent books and 25 
cents on $100 books. 

Booklet fully describing these and 
others on Fur Buying, Taxidermy, 
Tanning, Coloring and Home Manu- 
facture of Furs and Skins mailed to 
any address free. 

A. R. HARDING 

Book Publisher COLUMBUS. OHIO 









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